Is this costus scaber? I was thinking it was more red but mine is orange.
Costus scaber?
Hi Lisa, yes that is Costus scaber. The colors of the bracts and flowers can vary from yellow to orange and red, and the bracts usually become greenish with age. This species has a natural range from southern Mexico all the way to Ecuador in South America and is therefore quite variable in form. The one that is common in cultivation in the US (usually sold as Costus spicatus in error) has orange-red to almost pinkish bracts and yellowish flowers. After you've seen a few thousand plants, the shape of the stamen and labellum is pretty distinctive for the one in US cultivation, but I have seen some high altitude Costus scaber plants in Costa Rica that look entirely different - short with thin stems and pure red bracts and flowers. There is one character I have found - not part of the identification key - that helps me determine them, especially if they are not in flower. If you look on the upper side of the leaves along the center vein with a magnifying glass you will see a single line of very small stiff hairs. I am not certain yet that this is unique in Costus scaber, but so far it seems to hold true.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Interesting. I am going to have to go check it out when it cools off some. I am getting pretty sick of the heat and drought. We have had about five minutes of rain in the last two months.