1358.000 Costus L.

Description of the genus

Rhizomatous perennial herbs. Leaves spirally arranged on a true aerial stem (afer), or 4 in a cross-shaped rosette appressed to the ground (macranthus and spectabilis). Inflorescence usually condensed into subspherical cone-like spikes either terminal or arising from the rhizome. Petals 3. Labellum petaloid. Fruit a berry, crowned by the persistent calyx.

Worldwide: c. 110 species in the tropics; c. 25 in tropical Africa.

Caprivi: 6 cultivated taxa.

Links to cultivated taxa View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

Species	Content
afer Ker Gawl.	Description, Image
dubius (Afzel.) K.Schum.
lucanusianus J.Braun & K.Schum.
macranthus K. Schum.	Description, Image
phyllocephalus K.Schum.
spectabilis (Fenzl) K. Schum.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Costus:

Our websites:

Flora of Malawi: Costus
Flora of Mozambique: Costus
Flora of Zambia: Costus
Flora of Zimbabwe: Costus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Costus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Costus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Costus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Costus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Costus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Costus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Costus
JSTOR Plant Science: Costus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Costus
Plants of the World Online: Costus
Tropicos: Costus
Wikipedia: Costus