About Thalia dealbata Fraser
Thalia dealbata, commonly called powdery alligator-flag, hardy canna, or powdery thalia, is an aquatic plant species in the family Marantaceae. It is native to swamps, ponds, and other wetlands in the southern and central United States. Its native range covers much of the Coastal Plains and the lower Mississippi Valley, including the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky. It is grown as an aquatic ornamental plant valued for its attractive violet flowers. In cultivation, it has been shown to be hardy as far north as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Vancouver, British Columbia. Thalia dealbata reaches a height of 6 ft (1.8 m). Small violet flowers grow on an 8 in (20 cm) panicle that sits above the plant's foliage. Its leaves are blue-green, shaped ovate to lanceolate, dusted with a white powder, and edged with purple.
