Indian shot - Canna indica

Common Name :	Indian shot, Edible canna, African arrowroot.
Binomial Name :	Canna indica
Family :	Cannaceae
Bangla Name :	Kolaboti.
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

The name of the flowering plant is Indian Shot. In Bangladesh this is known as Kolabit. Binomial name of the plant is Canna indica and belongs to the plant family Cannaceae. Other common names of the flower are Edible canna, African arrowroot, purple arrowroot, etc. This plant is native to the Americas. And now naturalised into other tropical and sub-tropical countries.





Indian shot (Canna indica) is a soft plant that can grow up to 2.5 meters in height. Leafs are broad and like banana leaf. Leafs are arranged alternately around the stem. Each leaf is having a violet border (and also violet at center). Its seeds are heavier than other seeds in nature and those reassemble as the shell of a shotgun. Possibly this is the reason behind its binomial name.





Indian shot (Canna indica) produces flower more or less during every season (rainy is the peak time). Flowers are very soft and crapy. Hermaphrodite flowers appear in striking red and yellow colors. Hard seeds of this plant are valuable to the Buddhist monks. They use those beads along with the Rudraksha beads to prepare Rudraksha Mala (kind of rosary or "Japa Mala").





The other name for the plant is Edible canna. The tuber of this plant can be used as raw or cooked. Obtained starch is also being used as a food source for many years in South America. Leafs were used to wrap pastries and other products in past. This plant can take high organic loads from the chemical wastes. Thus water can be treated using the plantation of canna. Leafs of this plant are a nice food source for domestic animals.


Photos for Indian shot (Canna indica) were taken from a Moulvibazar, Bangladesh. It was my tour during September 2011. In Bangladesh we call this plant as Kolaboti or Kola boti (কলাবতী ফুল).


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog https://icflora.blogspot.com/