Canna Land

The Many Faces Of Cleopatra

Cleopatra is a chimera. This is a genetic condition that causes the plant to have variable flowers and foliage. Stalks with all green leaves produce yellow flowers with red dots. If the leaves have purple streaks, then the flowers will have more red in them. Look at the buds. Usually the yellow buds produce mostly yellow flowers and the red buds produce mostly red flowers. Every flower can be different, even on the same stalk.

The Diva Cleopatra

An Especially Lovely Cleopatra Flower

Canna 'Cleopatra' with an eyecatching mutant red flower.

Cleopatra's Seed Pods

Canna 'Cleopatra' has random red streaks on the seed pods, too.

More Cleopatra Pictures

Canna 'Cleopatra' flowers

C. 'Cleopatra' has variably marked flowers

C. 'Cleopatra' with red streaks

Cleopatra Blooms!

Canna 'Cleopatra'

These are the first blooms of Cleopatra. They are lovely bright yellow with red spots.

State of Confusion

Canna 'Cleopatra' buds

The buds of Cleopatra are randomly colored green, purple or both.

Chocolate Stripes

Canna 'Cleopatra' foliage with characteristic brown stripes

Cleopatra is a chimera. That means that there are two different sets of genes within the plant tissue that cause the striped leaves and harlequin flowers. Lovely brown and green leaves are a predictor for lovely yellow and red flowers.

Cleopatra is unstable, so that no two flowers may look alike. Completely green shoots will create solid yellow flowers. Brown shoots will have all red flowers.