OBUNYAGASANI Runyarwanda, OBURANGA Runyankole, AMARANGA Rutoro, EIRANGA Runyoro. TIKAS
Botany
Tikas is stout herbaceous plant with a tuberous rootstock. Whole plant is green and smooth, growing 1.5 meters high. Leaves are lanceolate or ovate, 10 to 30 centimeters long, 10 to 20 centimeters wide. Inflorescence is somewhat waxy-glaucous, erect, with a peduncle about 30 centimeters long. Flowers are red, solitary or in pairs, the bracts about 1.3 centimeters long. Sepals are 1 to 1.5 centimeters long, greenish-white though sometimes tinged with red, and lanceolate or oblong. Corolla tube about 1 cm long, the involutes lobes being red or reddish, 2.5 to 3 centimeters long. The staminodes are bright-red, petal-like, the outer one being about 4 centimeters long, somewhat spatulate, acute, or slightly acuminate, and the others somewhat smaller, though the anther-bearing ones are as long as the outer one, about 4 centimeters wide, and recurved about the insertion of the anther. Inflorescence somewhat waxy-glaucous, erect, with a peduncle about 30 centimeters long. Fruits are capsules, green oblong-ovoid, softly echinate (spiny), and 2 to 2.5 centimeters long. Seeds are about the size of a pea, somewhat spherical, with shining, black seed-coat.
Throughout the Philippines in settled areas, occurring in waste places and near settlements.
– Native of tropical America, and now pan tropic in distribution.
Properties
Sweet-tasting, slightly cooling-natured, antipyretic, relieves gastrointestinal disorders.
Rhizomes considered demulcent, diaphoretic, diuretic, antipyretic.
Seeds considered cordial and vulnerary.
Roots considered acrid and stimulant.
Uses
Folkloric
· principally used in the treatment of acute jaundice type of hepatitis. Use 15 to 30 gms dried material or 60 to 90 gms fresh rhizome material in decoction. Commonly, recovery from jaunditic symptoms may be observed after one week of administration.
· In the Philippines, decoction of rhizome used as diuretic. Also, when macerated in water, used to alleviate nosebleeds.
In Costa Rica infusion of leaves used as diuretic; rhizomes used as emollient.
· Decoction of rhizomes used in fevers, dropsy and dyspepsia.
· Flowers may be used for external wound bleeding – use 10 to 15 gm dried material in decoction.
• In Bangladesh, paste of plant used for tonsillitis.
• In Thailand, rhizome has been used with other herbs for cancer treatment.
• In southwest Nigeria, leaves used for malaria
Root – cooked. The source of ‘canna starch’, used as arrowroot [97, 177]. The arrowroot is obtained by rasping the root to a pulp, then washing and straining to get rid of the fibres[2]. The very young tubers are eaten cooked, they are sweet but fibrousy[97, K]. Roots contain about 25% starch [61]. There is one report that this plant has an edible fruit[177] but this is somewhat dubious, the fruit is a dry capsule containing the very hard seeds
The plant is used in the treatment of women’s complaints [218]. A decoction of the root with fermented rice is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea and amenorrhoea[218]. The plant is also considered to be demulcent, diaphoretic and diuretic Canna indica
1: canna grown especially for its edible rootstock from which
Arrowroot starch is obtained [syn: achira, indian shot, arrowroot,[1]
A starch is made from the rhizomes that are very similar to, and a good substitute for, arrowroot starch which is derived from an unrelated plant, Maranta arundinacea. The young rhizomes of Indian shot are sometimes eaten; they are sweet, but woody and fibrous. The seeds are perfectly round and very hard and reportedly were used as shot for flintlock muskets when lead shot was not available. Nowadays the seeds are commonly used as beads in natural seed jewelry for necklaces and especially rosaries
The early American botanist and explorer, William Bartram, wrote in his book, Travels, in 1773, the discovery of Canna indica in Alabama near Mobile, “Canna indica is surprising in luxuriance, presenting a glorious show, the stem rises six, seven, and nine feet high, terminating upwards with spikes of scarlet flowers.
Canna indica x hybrids Canna TROPICAL AMERICA Although the Canna indica is an invader species, its colourful hybrids are not. These striking rhizomatous plants bear bright red, yellow, pink, orange or cream flowers in summer
ALLELUIA NUTRITIONAL CENTER 