This was given to us as a "possible species Costus". The stalks are quite tall, very fuzzy and the backs of the leaves are very fuzzy as well. The bracts are approx 10"12" tall, and the flowers are orange. Any ideas? Dave?
Mystery Costus ID????
Very interesting plant! It does not look like any I have seen. The amount of hairyness tends to be variable within species of Costus and does not help to identify in most cases, or only to distinguish between closely related species. Looks like the edges of the bract appendages are curled inwards on the edges like Costus productus. It would help to see a bract dissected from the inflorescence to see if there is a distinct appendage or if the bracts are merely curved outwards. Looks from the photo like appendages.
Do you have a close-up photo of an individual flower? Looks like it is the tubular type, not the spreading type, and red-orange in color, but difficult to see in your photo. Is it a terminal bloomer or a basal bloomer?
Also the length and shape of the ligule is a character used in identification and is important in distinguishing Costus productus from similar looking species like Costus curvibracteatus, Costus montanus and Costus barbatus. If you have Costus barbatus then you REALLY have a special plant because that one apparently is not found anywhere in cultivation and may even be extinct in the wild. The one in US horticulture sold as Costus barbatus is really Costus comosus var. bakeri. (For details go to
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/description.php?PID=3074)
If you have a close-up photo of the flower and photo or description of the ligules, that would help, but based on this photo the most likely are Costus productus or Costus curvibracteatus both of which appear to have appendaged bracts that are curved inwards and small tubular flowers. I assume you don't know where it was collected - that would also help a lot.
Other possibilities are Costus montanus (does not look like a form I have seen), Costus cupreifolius, or Costus quasi-appendiculatus. All have red appendaged bracts and small tubular flowers. If the bracts are not appendaged, that opens up several other possibilities.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Here is a form of Costus productus (as determined by Chelsea Specht) that is growing at Lyon Arboretum.
This message was edited Jan 30, 2007 7:14 AM
This message was edited Jan 30, 2007 7:23 AM
Dave....will take a bunch of photos today and post them. Will try to find where it was collected or is from. It is a basal bloomer. More later...thanks so much for your help!!!
Carol
Dave...the seeds came from Jim West in Ecuador.
Took 4 pictures...here is the first one. I cut this inflorescene for the healthy flower...it is the smallest of all....the large ones are about 12" tall.
Another one.
and....another. The friend who gave me the plant would also love to know what it is!!! Hope you have some idea.
This message was edited Jan 30, 2007 1:58 PM
Okay, that narrows it down considerably. From Ecuador, basal bloomer, red curled-in bracts, spreading flower form vs. tubular, very hairy sheaths and leaves - most likely it is Costus longebracteolatus. I have not seen it in flower myself, but have seen a few photos and I have some info at http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/description.php?PID=4006 . You will see that it looks quite different but that is just because the inflo is younger and the bracts and flowers are not as red. All the photos I have seen have mostly green bracts but I have heard that the form Mark Collins calls "Kiss of Death" has different looking inflorescence from the "standard" C. longebracteolatus.
I also have the section on Costus from Flora of Ecuador (just got it from Sweden last week) which gives a little more detail than what I have on that web page. Maas describes the bracts as "green or reddish tinged in the exposed part, covered part red, coriaceous, broadly ovate-triangular, apex slightly curved backwards".
It should be very easy to verify if you will dissect under one of the bracts and measure the bracteole and calyx. The bracteole should be very long (thus the epithet "longebracteolatus") from 32-42 mm long, and the calyx likewise fairly long for Costus - 17-22 mm long. I have some examples of Costus bracteoles at http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/bracteole.htm and Costus calyx at http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/calyx.htm
The ligules should be 10-30 mm long - http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/ligule.htm
If your plant does not have the really long bracteole, there are a couple of other possibilities for Ecuadorian Costus - C. zamoranus or a basal blooming form of Costus amazonicus. But we can cross that bridge if necessary. This is sooooo much fun. Actually Ecuador is my next area to explore for Costus. I have started planning a trip for later this year, which is why I ordered the Flora of Ecuador volume.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Hairy stems on Costus longebracteolatus
Dear Carol and Dave, I have the same costus and here in Australia it is sold as Kiss of Death. I may be mistaken but I think there is a plaque at the flecker botanical gardens that says it's originally from Africa. In high humidity it can take a full sun and is a real beauty for landscaping. Ann
Good call, Dave....
Costus longibracteolatus it IS!!! It is sold by a cut flower exporter here....the peduncles can get about a meter high!!!
Thanks,
Carol