Canna - Do you grow it?

I read that Cannas are edible.
Some sites say most of them are edible , even the flowering types
Other sites say the flowering types are not edible.

A couple people have mentioned that they grow them.
Have you eaten the tubers and leaves?

From my searches it seems some countries (like Vietnam)
grow them as regular crops for the leaves and tubers.

They are very vigorous plants and are hard to eradicate
but it would be a great Plus if they are good eating...

there is a form canna edulis and if you have tried it then you might understand why only this one is called edible. Maybe it is simply the others taste yucky as the so called edulis doesn't taste great. Maybe I haven't cooked it right. they grow very easy and are easy to eradicate. And they look great why you should bother eating the ornamentals?

I have Canna edulis, C. indica, and two unknown cultivars in patches here and there. Haven't harvested any yet, I want to get them to expand a bit first. I look at it as an emergency crop - ornamental for now, but there to dig up if really needed.

If one is going to process the tubers into starch (like they do in Vietnam for noodles), then any Canna can be considered edible. Some may have larger tubers or higher yield.  Some types may taste more pleasant, which can be a real factor if one is going to eat the shoots or tubers whole.

Yes, I grow it, no, I haven't tried eating it. 

I grew Canna edulis from seed this year.  Didn't germinate until it finally got hot, then has grown quickly.  I may try it once it has grown enough, doubt that will take too long at the rate they are growing.  I have many plants that are generally considered ornamentals, but are technically edible.  Most I didn't know where edible until looking at the PFAF website.  We just have to remember that edible and palatable can be two entirely different things.  Still, it is nice to know there is food there if it should ever be needed.

planted cannas and callas from walmart this year and they didn't grow

I grow Canna indica from rhizomes that a friend gave me. They have grown well here in our climate (Zone 7) and are really beautiful plants.



I tend to agree with Jonathan_Byron, ediblecities and plantsnobin as far as the edibility is concerned. Good to know it's there but I'll finish the garden and forest food first ! 

As I see it, permaculture isn't just thinking of food for humans but looking at all uses that can be found from a plant including the physical aspect of the plant as shade, protection of other plants, screening etc.

Our pigs love the leaves and roots and the goats will eat the leaves. As we're having more and more problems with drought here in South West France, I'm always on the look-out for edible plants that I can grow for our animals who then convert their food into meat, skins, milk, cheese and compost.

As well as feed, the seeds have a number of uses - limited only by your imagination. They can be used for making jewellery, fly screens, furniture (think bean-bags) and ammunition. I read that the seeds from this Canna (which is also called Indian shot) are hard enough to pierce wood so we did our own experimenting and I can confirm that with a powerful sling the seeds could be used to hunt small game.

We got 1.4 kilos of heavy, hard, perfectly round seeds from seven plants :



This year I'm growing a few more plants and I'll be interested to see what the keeping qualities of the seeds are and how the plants will do in a really dry season with no irrigation. 

The blooms attract hummingbirds, so that makes me happy. 

Yes I do grow them, but I admit I haven't tried eating them. 
As for their being "hard to eradicate", I've never heard of anyone trying to do so, usually its the other way around "How do I propagate/ make more?"

Canna being edible makes it onto my list to incorporate into the FF Garden.
They grow 4feet high and dense so they could offer protection to other plants.
I suspect they will like a lot of water.
I could even try cutting them for mulch? seeing as they are quite vigorous growers...
I like the "Edibility versus Palatability"... but good to know they can be eaten.
Will just have to do a taste test to identify the "better" tasting ones.

maybe the ornamental varieties have less starch. Here they are called Queensland Arrowroot and there has been an industry in the past to get the starch. They are traditional crops of South America, however  I didn't find suitable recipes. Garden writer Jackie French recommends harvesting them young.

Jen0454 wrote:
Canna being edible makes it onto my list to incorporate into the FF Garden.
They grow 4feet high and dense so they could offer protection to other plants.
I suspect they will like a lot of water.
I could even try cutting them for mulch? seeing as they are quite vigorous growers...
I like the "Edibility versus Palatability"... but good to know they can be eaten.
Will just have to do a taste test to identify the "better" tasting ones.

Boiled and massed with some Garlic and Butter Salt & Pepper they are very much like regular potatoes but have a subtle sweetness too.

I had no idea!!!  Canna grow like weeds here; even when I try to get rid of them a few keep popping up.

I am glad they were persistent as they appear to have quite a few uses. 

I grow Canna indica and Canna edulis. Only Canna indica made flowers this year, and I didn't get any seed. All my Canna indica are the same cultivar (the patch is growing each year).
Could that be an issue in order to get some seeds? Are Canna indica autosterile?
Thanks.

Not all Canna indica & hybrids are autosterile (some probably are, but I've had a few varieties that definitely weren't), but they may only produce seeds after a certain age. Younger plants don't seem to produce seeds, and none of them do unless there's lots of hot weather and lots of water available.

Haven't tried eating them but my research indicates that all Cannas are edible, since you process the tuber for starch rather than eating it whole (very fibrous if eaten whole, still edible but not really great to eat). Tubers and leaves are good for pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens if your chickens will eat them. Rabbits I'm not sure, but they can probably have the greens.

Canna indica want me to eat them. The tubers get out of the ground by themselves.
Still have to find a recipe, because I'm not sure it's easily edible.

Cooked it 6 hours at 60°C (140°F), and finished it at 200°C (392+F).
I ate one tonight. Not bad, but would not make it my main staple, for sure... The "bud" was less fibrous than the main root, but all was usable, and I made myself some mashed Canna.
We'll see tomorrow how I'm doing... if I'm not dead.

André Troylilas - Have you cooked it again?  If so, any additional suggestions/recipes?

No, because it killed me.
Just kidding.
My Cannas are still flowering, so I will have to wait a month or so before eating Cannas again.

We grow Canna indica for pollinators only. I do have a recipe for making noodles from the roots but for us they are more valuable as pollinator attractors.

I used your "recipe" as a staring point and cooked some up myself a couple of nights ago.

I have a few ornamental canna patches - they are rampant growers for me in coastal southern California. I had to remove a patch that was starting to push over a small guava, and was impacting the growth of my macadamia tree. I harvested out 7 large totes of rhizomes a few days ago..

The day of harvest we had green sprouts as a side veg for dinner. I only used the inner, tender light green section, and cut it in 1" pieces and steamed them with some peas (not enough alone). They tasted great.

I'm still fiddling with the baking - I have a couple of ideas to end up with a better end product. I have so many pounds of canna to work with (and two more patches to dig out to protect more trees), I figure I can keep experimenting. I will still have some canna in the yard, but away from trees.

I have also been trying my hand and getting the starch out of the older roots. It takes a fair bit of water and time to extract even a small amount. I'm still "washing" mine to get it whiter before I dry it. I used a blender rather than pounding, so it speeds up the process, but there is a lot of straining, rinsing, repeat, involved.

This is what I did the first time I baked up some rhizomes:
Canna in a Dutch Oven
Remove scales, small roots and damaged areas from rhizomes. Cut into 4” chunks.
Put a glop of coconut oil in Dutch oven, spread around to coat bottom and sides.
Add chunks.
Cut up 5 peeled garlic cloves, add to pot and and drizzle all with olive oil. Mix around to coat canna with oil.
Cover with lid.
Bake in 350° degree oven for at least 3 hours. If possible half way through stir rhizomes a bit (I didn't and had some sticking and uneven cooking).
Check doneness with a fork.
Note: fiddly as diners need to scrape desired flesh from skins (use a spoon)
Have salt at the table - cooked this way it doesn't do good to salt ahead since the edible parts are not exposed,

The end result tastes quite a bit like a wax potato. There was a slight, but not unpleasant, undertone of bitterness. The prep time, excess fiber and cook time are factors, but the flavor is fine (the garlic probably helped).