Plant Datasheet for Costus tappenbeckianus

Costus described in 1904 by Schumann.

The African Plant Database lists this species as accepted. Biology : Rhizomatous perennial herb with leafy shoots 17-35 cm tall Ecology : Swampy or humid open forest; 800 m alt.

Flora of Tropical Africa, 1898 - describes this species,

W3Tropicos - http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/pick.html - Costus tappenbeckianus Braun-Blanq. & K. Schum.;Author(s): ORSTOM Date: 1988 Publication: List of Vascular Plants of Gabon with Synonymy Lists C. radicans and C. pauciflorus as synonyms.

ACCESSION NOTES:
My accession R2266 is from Smithsonian, USBRG#1994-682. This collection has been vouchered at the UC Berkeley, Jepsen Herbarium, UC2045783. I also received a plant of this species from John Banta, R2991.

GINGERSRUS CATALOG LISTING:
Here is another African Costus species that is seldom found in cultivation and I have never seen it for sale in the US. It is a medium sized Costus, with thin spiraling stems and small dark green glossy leaves. It flowers both at the base of the plant and on the terminal ends of the long leafy stems. The bracts are almost a brownish color, but the flowers are lavendar pink, similar looking to the flower of Costus mosaicus. Like Costus mosaicus, it blooms in the late spring.

I have not tested it for winter hardiness here, and I doubt it is hardy anywhere colder than zone 10 or 9 B at best. Fortunately, also like Costus mosaicus, it is compact enough to be grown in pots and overwintered in a greenhouse or sun room.