Costus

For the plant known in Ancient Rome as "costus", see Saussurea costus.
See Catherine of Alexandria for the man named Costus often held to be her father.

Costus
Costus pulverulentus in Costa Rica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Costaceae
Genus: Costus
L.[1]
Synonyms[1]

Costus is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Costaceae, erected by Linnaeus in 1753.[2][3] It is widespread through tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.[1][4][5]

Costus is often characterized and distinguished from relatives such as Zingiber (true ginger) by its spiraling stems. The genus as a whole is thus often called spiral gingers, but this can also refer to C. barbatus specifically.[citation needed] It is important not to confuse Costus scaber, C. spectabilis etc. with the herb known by the common name "costus".

Costus spectabilis is the floral emblem of Nigeria; its flowers are represented (erroneously in red instead of yellow color) on its coat of arms.[6]

Costus productus and Costus guanaiensis are among the species of Costus with edible flowers.[7][8][9] Other Costus species' flowers have also been determined to be edible.[10][11]

Some Costus species have traditional medicinal and veterinary uses. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, a mix of Costus scaber juice and crushed Renealmia alpinia berries is used to treat dogs bitten by snakes.[12]

Costus naturally hybridizes, and commercial hybrids have also been produced.[13]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference POWO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference LINNAEUS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TROPICOS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference FOC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SPECHT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "The National Flower of Nigeria: Costus Spectabilis". Nigerian Embassy in Tel-Aviv, Israel. 28 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Costus productus". Flora & Fauna Web. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Costus productus". Tropical Plant Database - Plant Details. National Tropical Botanical Garden. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  9. ^ Fern, Ken. "Costus guanaiensis". Useful Tropical Plants Database. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  10. ^ King, Arno. "Edible Flowers" (PDF). Subtropical Gardening. 11: 82–83.
  11. ^ Carle, Alan (1995). "Costus flowers - a new delicacy?" (PDF). Heliconia Society International Bulletin. 7 (4).
  12. ^ Lans, Cheryl; Harper, Tisha; Georges, Karla; Bridgewater, Elmo (2001). "Medicinal and ethnoveterinary remedies of hunters in Trinidad". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 1 (10). doi:10.1186/1472-6882-1-10. PMC 60997. PMID 11737880.
  13. ^ Skinner, Dave (2016). "Ornamental Costus" (PDF). CAMPINAS-SP. 22 (3): 307–317.