1358.000 Costus L.

Description of the genus

Rhizomatous perennial herbs. Leaves spirally arranged on a true aerial stem (afer), or 4 in a cross-shaped rosette appressed to the ground (macranthus and spectabilis). Inflorescence usually condensed into subspherical cone-like spikes either terminal or arising from the rhizome. Petals 3. Labellum petaloid. Fruit a berry, crowned by the persistent calyx.

Worldwide: c. 110 species in the tropics; c. 25 in tropical Africa.

Malawi: 5 taxa.

Costus afer

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
afer Ker Gawl.NDescription, Image
macranthus K. Schum.N,C,SDescription, Image
sarmentosus Bojer N
spectabilis (Fenzl) K. Schum.N,CDescription, Image
subbiflorus K. Schum.N

Other sources of information about Costus:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Costus
Flora of Mozambique: Costus
Flora of Zambia: Costus
Flora of Zimbabwe: Costus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Costus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Costus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Costus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Costus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Costus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Costus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Costus
JSTOR Plant Science: Costus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Costus
Plants of the World Online: Costus
Tropicos: Costus
Wikipedia: Costus

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Malawi: Genus page: Costus.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=398, retrieved 28 March 2024

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