Plant
Indian Shot
Canna indicaAlso known as African Arrowroot, Edible Canna, Purple Arrowroot, Sierra Leone Arrowroot
Indian shot produces bold, paddle-shaped leaves and vibrant red to yellow blossoms that draw hummingbirds and butterflies throughout warm months. The plant earns its common name from its extremely hard, spherical seeds, which resemble musket shot and were historically used as craft beads or musical rattle filler. Native to the Neotropics, it thrives along stream margins and moist forest edges while establishing robust underground rhizome networks.
TropicalFloweringBroadleaf
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—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyAutotrophic
ThreatsHabitat loss, competition from invasive plants
HabitatsWetland margins, tropical forest edges, disturbed ground
Life spanPerennial
Classification
- OrderZingiberales
- FamilyCannaceae
- GenusCanna
- SpeciesCanna indica
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Garden Placement: Plant in full sun with rich, moist soil to encourage continuous blooming throughout summer.
- Seed Observation: Inspect the dried three-part capsules late in the season to discover the dense, marble-like black seeds.
- Wildlife Watching: Position near quiet garden spots to spot visiting hummingbirds sipping nectar from the narrow flowers.
Ecological Counterpart Octave Fargier / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
Close Relative (c) Jake Gross, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Jake Gross · cc-by-sa
Order Relative (c) Ong Jyh Seng, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Ong Jyh Seng · cc-by-sa
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