PLANT FAMILY: Costaceae BOTANICAL NAME: Costus sp. -Red Appendaged Bracts, Hitoy-Cerere FORMAL SCIENTIFIC NAME: STATUS : CONTINENT: Neotropical SYNONYMS: BOTANICAL NOTES: Costus sp. growing behind ranger station at Hitoy-Cerere Biological Reserve, Costa Rica - Red appendaged bracts, flowers not seen. Upper side of leaves scabrid, lower side velutinous, ligule truncate Ca 1 cm long, hairs on all parts. Could not examine plant parts. This plant is a bit of a mystery, but after looking again at these photos, I now believe this may have been Costus comosus, in the form cultivated in the US under the incorrect name of Costus barbatus. Only the one plant, directly behind the ranger station was found, so it could have been brought there. |