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Canna indica, commonly called achira in Latin America, has been cultivated by Native Americans in tropical America for thousands of years, and was one of the earliest domesticated plants in the Americas. The starchy root is edible.[11]The first species of Canna introduced to Europe was C. indica, which was imported from the East Indies, though the species originated from the Americas. Charles de l'Ecluse, who first described and sketched C. indica, indicated this origin, and stated that it was given the name indica, not because the plant is from India, in Asia, but because this species was originally transported from America: Quia ex America primum delata sit; and at that time, one described the tropical areas of that part of the globe as the West Indies.