Costus

Costus
See Catherine of Alexandria for the man named Costus often held to be her father.
Costus
Costus pulverulentus at Rara Avis, Costa Rica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Costaceae
Genus: Costus
L.
Species

Many, see text

Synonyms

Banksea Koenig

Costus is a genus of perennial tropical herbaceous plants from the costus family (Costaceae). They are often characterized and distinguished from relatives such as Zingiber (true ginger) by their spiraling stems. The genus as a whole is thus often called spiral gingers, but this can also refer to C. barbatus specifically.

Costus spectabilis is the floral emblem of Nigeria; its flowers are represented (erroneously in red instead of yellow color) on its coat of arms. It is important not to confuse "Costus speciousus, C. spectabilis etc. with the herb known by the common name 'costus'. Some species are of importance to herbivores, such as caterpillars of the Restricted Demon (Notocrypta curvifascia) which feed on Crape Ginger (C. speciosus). The Crape Ginger is also a source of diosgenin, a compound used for the commercial production of various steroids, such as progesterone. In Trinidad and Tobago, a mix of Costus scaber juice and crushed Renealmia alpinia berries is used to treat dogs bitten by snakes.

Selected species

  • Costus acanthocephalus K.Schum.
  • Costus acaulis S.Moore
  • Costus acreanus (Loes.) Maas
  • Costus adolphi-friderici Loes.
  • Costus afer Ker Gawl.
  • Costus albus A.Chev.
  • Costus allenii Maas
  • Costus arabicus Vell. (Syn.: C. verschaffeltianus)
  • Costus barbatus – Spiral Ginger
  • Costus chartaceus – Christmas Costus
  • Costus comosus Roscoe
  • Costus curvibracteatus Maas
  • Costus cuspidatus (Nees & Mart.) Maas
  • Costus deistellii
  • Costus dubius (Afzel.) K.Schum.
  • Costus englerianus K.Schum.
  • Costus erythrocoryne
  • Costus erythrophyllus Loes.
  • Costus fragilis Maas
  • Costus fusiformis Maas
  • Costus guanaiensis Rusby
  • Costus giganteus, Giant Ginger
  • Costus igneus
  • Costus laevis Ruiz & Pav.
  • Costus lima
  • Costus ligularis
  • Costus longebracteolatus
  • Costus lucanusianus J.Braun & K.Schum.
  • Costus malortieanus
  • Costus mosaicus W.Bull
  • Costus oblongus S.Q.Tong
  • Costus osae Maas & H.Maas
  • Costus phaeotrichus
  • Costus phyllocephalus
  • Costus potierae F.Muell.
  • Costus pulverulentus C.Presl
  • Costus ricus Maas & H.Maas
  • Costus rumphianus Valeton ex K.Heyne
  • Costus scaber
  • Costus speciosus – Crape Ginger
  • Costus spectabilis
  • Costus spicatus – Spiked Spiralflag Ginger; Indian Head Ginger
  • Costus spiralis (Jacq.) Roscoe
  • Costus stenophyllus Standl. + L.O.Williams
  • Costus tapenbeckianus
  • Costus tonkinensis Gagnep.
  • Costus viridis S.Q.Tong
  • Costus woodsonii

Formerly placed here

Plants for some time placed in this genus include Alpinia nutans (as Costus zerumbet)