PLANT FAMILY: Costaceae BOTANICAL NAME: Costus 'Phoenix' FORMAL SCIENTIFIC NAME: STATUS : CONTINENT: Neotropical SYNONYMS:
ACCESSION NOTES: A Tim Chapman hybrid of the horticultural plant called Costus barbatus (Costus comosus var. bakeri).GINGERSRUS CATALOG LISTING:
This is a Tim Chapman hybrid with Costus comosus (hort. barbatus) and it superficially looks the same. Botanically the differences include 1. reddish apex to the flowers, 2. visible nectar callus on the bracts, 3. longer ligules, and 4. purplish cast to the basal parts of young stems. But there is a much more important difference! This plant is one of the most profusely flowering plants I have seen. It flowers both basally and terminally, and flowers all year long, unlike the C. comosus (hort. barbatus) which will only flower in the spring if the plant has not frozen back. It has not yet been fully tested for hardiness, but Tim named it 'Phoenix' because it came back from being frozen back.
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