Costus barbatus

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Spiral ginger
Buberel unknown flower 15.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Costaceae
Genus: Costus
Species:
C. barbatus
Binomial name
Costus barbatus

Costus barbatus, also known as spiral ginger, is a perennial plant with a red inflorescence. It is one of the most commonly cultivated Costus species.

The foliage of Costus barbatus is dark green and fuzzy underneath. The long red inflorescences are complemented with bright yellow tubular flowers. Clumps spread easily and produce plants that normally get to six feet tall.

Costus barbatus is native to Costa Rica. Plants are pollinated by hummingbirds. [2] Costus barbatus are popular as cut flowers.

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<i>Dianthus</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raceme</span> Unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing pedicellate flowers along its axis

A raceme or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows in height, with no predetermined growth limit. Examples of racemes occur on mustard and radish plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bract</span> Modified or specialized leaf

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Dianthus barbatus, the sweet William, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. It has become a popular ornamental garden plant. It is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 13–92 cm tall, with flowers in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems. Each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals displaying serrated edges. Wild plants produce red flowers with a white base, but colours in cultivars range from white, pink, red, and purple to variegated patterns. The exact origin of its English common name is unknown but first appears in 1596 in botanist John Gerard's garden catalogue. The flowers are edible and may have medicinal properties. Sweet William attracts bees, birds, and butterflies.

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<i>Costus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Costus is a group of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Costaceae, described by Linnaeus as a genus in 1753. It was formerly known as Hellenia after the Finnish botanist Carl Niclas von Hellens. It is widespread through tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudanthium</span> Type of inflorescence, clusters of flowers

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Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the elephant foot yam or whitespot giant arum, is a tropical plant native to Island Southeast Asia. It is cultivated for its edible tubers in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Madagascar, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands. Because of its production potential and popularity as a vegetable in various cuisines, it can be raised as a cash crop.

<i>Costus chartaceus</i> Species of flowering plant

Costus chartaceus, commonly known as the Christmas costus, is a perennial plant with a red inflorescence. It is native to Colombia and Ecuador but cultivated as an ornamental in other regions.

<i>Dolomiaea costus</i> Species of plant

Dolomiaea costus, formerly known as Saussurea costus, commonly known as costus, Indian costus,kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus Dolomiaea native to South Asia and China. Rishi (Hindu) mystics of Kashmir especially ate this plant. Essential oils extracted from the root have been used in traditional medicine and in perfumes since ancient times.

<i>Amorphophallus titanum</i> Species of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae

Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum, is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The inflorescence of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, is larger, but it is branched rather than unbranched. A. titanum is endemic to rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

<i>Lupinus latifolius</i> Species of legume

Lupinus latifolius is a species of lupine known by the common name broadleaf lupine. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California to New Mexico, where it is common and can be found in several types of habitat. There are several subtaxa, described as subspecies or varieties, some common and some rare. They vary in morphology. In general this plant is an erect perennial herb. It grows 30 centimeters to over two meters in height, in texture hairy to nearly hairless. Each palmate leaf is made up of several leaflets, those on larger plants up to 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears many flowers, sometimes in whorls. Each flower is one to two centimeters in length, purple to blue to white in color, the spot on its banner yellowish, pinkish, or white.

<i>Costus spicatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Costus spicatus, also known as spiked spiralflag ginger or Indian head ginger, is a species of herbaceous plant in the Costaceae family.

<i>Chamaecostus cuspidatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Chamaecostus cuspidatus, common name fiery costus or spiral flag, is a species of herbaceous plant in the family Costaceae native to eastern Brazil. In India, it is known as insulin plant for its purported anti-diabetic properties.

<i>Costus spectabilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Costus spectabilis, commonly known as the yellow trumpet, is an African, gregarious species of herb; low and perennial, it is found from Sierra Leone to Sudan to as far south as Angola and Zimbabwe.

<i>Costus curvibracteatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Costus curvibracteatus is a tropical rhizomatous perennial native to Costa Rica and Panama. A member of the spiral ginger family of plants, its common name is orange tulip ginger. It is also sometimes referred to as spiral ginger; however, this common name is better associated with Costus barbatus, a more widely cultivated and very similar species. Despite the name and its relation to the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), the rhizomes of the orange tulip ginger are not edible.

<i>Costus woodsonii</i> Species of plant

Costus woodsonii, the red button ginger or scarlet spiral flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Costaceae, native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. A rhizomatous geophytic perennial, it is recommended for coastal gardens, borders, containers, and general wet, tropical garden applications.

References

  1. "Costus barbatus Suess". The Plant List. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  2. Lee, David (2010). Nature's Palette: The Science of Plant Color. University of Chicago Press. p. 193. ISBN   978-0-226-47105-1 . Retrieved 14 July 2013.