Agricultural varieties thumb|left|Canna (Agriculture Group) 'Edulis Dark' The Canna Agriculture Group contains all of the varieties of Canna grown in agriculture. "Canna achira" is a generic term used in South America to describe the cannas that have been selectively bred for agricultural purposes, normally derived from C. discolor. It is grown especially for its edible rootstock from which starch is obtained, but the leaves and young seeds are also edible, and achira was once a staple food crop in Peru and Ecuador. Trials in Ecuador using a wide range of varieties have shown that achira can yield on average 56 tons of rhizomes and 7.8 tons of extractable starch per hectare. However, the crop needs 9–12 months to mature to full productivity.
Agricultural varieties thumb|left|Canna (Agriculture Group) 'Edulis Dark' The Canna Agriculture Group contains all of the varieties of Canna grown in agriculture. "Canna achira" is a generic term used in South America to describe the cannas that have been selectively bred for agricultural purposes, normally derived from C. discolor. It is grown especially for its edible rootstock from which starch is obtained, but the leaves and young seeds are also edible, and achira was once a staple food crop in Peru and Ecuador. Trials in Ecuador using a wide range of varieties have shown that achira can yield on average 56 tons of rhizomes and 7.8 tons of extractable starch per hectare. However, the crop needs 9–12 months to mature to full productivity.