Costus guanaiensis Rusby

Cana de india (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Zingiberales > Costaceae > Costus

Characteristics

A herb. It grows from a creeping underground tuberous rootstock and has stems 2-6 m tall.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 4.0
Root system creeping-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in moist to wet thickets. In Puerto Rico is grows between 90-860 m above sea level.
More
Moist to wet thickets at elevations from 90-860 metres in Puerto Rico.
Light 1-6
Soil humidity 5-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The stalks have a tasty acid juice. It is made into a drink by adding sugar. The flowers are also eaten raw.
Uses medicinal
Edible flowers stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Flower

Costus guanaiensis flower picture by Santos Ana Elene (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Costus guanaiensis world distribution map, present in Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:796308-1
WFO ID wfo-0000363074
COL ID YWSZ
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 731744
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Costus sinningiiflorus Costus guanaiensis

Lower taxons

Costus guanaiensis var. guanaiensis Costus guanaiensis var. macrostrobilus Costus guanaiensis var. tarmicus