WorldFloraDB - Costus woodsonii

Characteristics

A herb. It grows 1-2 m high. It spreads by underground stems or rhizomes. The stem spirals. The leaves are shiny and 15 cm long. The base is heart shaped. The flowers form a pine like cone at the top. There are thick red bracts overlapping each flower. The fruit are spongy and white with black seeds.

Life form	perennial
Growth form	herb
Growth support	free-standing
Foliage retention	-
Sexuality	hermaphrodite
Pollination	-
Spread	-
Mature width (meter)	-
Mature height (meter)	1.0 - 2.0
Root system	rhizome
Rooting depth (meter)	-
Root diameter (meter)	-
Flower color	-
Blooming months	-
Fruit color	-
Fruiting months	-
Nitrogen fixer	-
Photosynthetic pathway	-

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It grows near the beach on the Caribbean side in Costa Rica. In Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Light	-
Soil humidity	-
Soil texture	-
Soil acidity	-
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses	-
Edible	flowers
Therapeutic use	-
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Mode	-
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-