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 Photo# 15591 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - photo from Peru, Andes to Amazon Project |
 Photo# 15592 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - seen along El Oso Road in southeastern Ecuadoer |
 Photo# 15593 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - seen along El Oso Road in southeastern Ecuadoer |
 Photo# 15594 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru |
 Photo# 15595 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru. Some of the plants, especially the younger ones have distinctive red undersides to the leaves, petiole and ligule. |
 Photo# 15596 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru. Stamen of a pink flowering plant. |
 Photo# 15597 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru. Pink flowering plant. |
 Photo# 15598 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru. Pink flowering plant. |
 Photo# 15599 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru. Pink flowering plant. |
 Photo# 15600 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' from Manu Learning Center, Peru. Pink flowering plant. |
 Photo# 15601 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla with pendent inflorescence. Looking nearly identical to the plant first found at Gualaquiza, Ecuador. |
 Photo# 15602 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla with pendent inflorescence |
 Photo# 15603 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla with pendent inflorescence |
 Photo# 15604 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla with flower mostly white |
 Photo# 15605 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla with basal inflorescence. I only saw a few plants that flowered at the base. |
 Photo# 15606 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla with basal inflorescence |
 Photo# 15607 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla. Most plants had white labellums but a few like this one had pink or red labellums. |
 Photo# 15608 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla. Pink form. |
 Photo# 15609 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla. Here also, some of the plants had the distinctive purple ligules, others were green. |
 Photo# 15610 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Manu plant from Pantiacolla. Plant with purple ligule, petiole and leaf undersides. |
 Photo# 15611 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Origin unknown. |
 Photo# 15612 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Origin unknown. |
 Photo# 15613 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Origin unknown. |
 Photo# 15614 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Origin unknown. |
 Photo# 15615 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Origin unknown. |
 Photo# 15616 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Origin unknown. |
 Photo# 15617 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - cultivated by Jim West at Reserva Rio Guaycuyacu in Ecuador. Note characteristing red spots on sheath. |
 Photo# 15618 Specimen# R0 Costus aff. 'El Gato' - Cultivar Registry photo at www.heliconia.org. These photos are from the Gualaquiza Ecuador plant found in 2007. |
 Photo# 15619 Specimen# R0 Costus 'El Gato' - showing the wide geographic range of this undescribed species. |
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PLANT FAMILY: Costaceae BOTANICAL NAME: Costus laevis aff. laevis 'El Gato' FORMAL SCIENTIFIC NAME: STATUS : CONTINENT: Neotropical SYNONYMS: BOTANICAL NOTES: I first saw this form in 2007 in southeastern Ecuador near the town of Gualaquiza. It was on the property of a young man who was known in town as 'El Gato' because of his green eyes - something unusual for inhabitants of that area. I had no real idea what it was at first but I eventually registered it with the cultivar name of 'El Gato'. It is characterized by its pendent inflorescence, non-appendaged bracts and open labellum flower that is mostly white in color. Cultivar Description (from Registry): The primary distinguishing character is the pendent inflorescence, otherwise found only in Costus bracteatus in Central America. Bracts are dark red, non-appendaged, and without fibrous margins. The bracts are distinctively concave in shape forming a cone somewhat similar to Costus scaber, but the flower has a broad, open labellum, mostly white, with a yellow throat and variable amounts of pink color on the labellum wings. The labellum wings are usually parallel to each other giving a flattened appearance to the flower. There are also noticable spots on the stems, most pronounced on the lower part of the stems. Cultivar Registry Photo at http://www.gingersrus.com/Registry/Costus_ElGato.jpg Since that 2007 visit to Ecuador, I have seen many other similar looking plants from the same region in Ecuador and also from Colombia and southern Peru. It fits best among currently described species as Costus laevis, but may well be a new and undescribed species. OBSERVATION NOTES:Finca of Hugo, north of Gualaquiza, Ecuador, Latitude -3.396, Longitude -78.566, at 1075 meters elevation. Misión Bomboiza, Morona-Santiago Province, Ecuador, Latitude -3.45, Longitude -78.55, at 800 meters elevation. Near Rio Yacuambi along road from Zamora, Ecuador, Latitude -3.92062, Longitude -78.84708, at 900 meters elevation. Manu Learning Centre, Manú Province, Peru, Latitude -12.78922, Longitude -71.39172, at 480 meters elevation. Pantiacolla, Manú Province, Peru, Latitude -12.65, Longitude -71.24, at 500 meters elevation. GINGERSRUS CATALOG LISTING: Okay, back to the plant. I found a plant as shown below at "El Gato's" place and also at a Salesian Mission at the nearby village of Bomboiza. I think the closest match is the species Costus amazonicus, but Dr. Paul Maas has reviewed the photos and said it is not C. amazonicus. I thought it might be just a one-time occurance, perhaps a hybrid, until January 2013 when I found identical plants growing 1000 miles to the south in southern Peru! So…. I am not really sure, but it may be a new and undescribed species, and for now I am calling it Costus 'El Gato'. It is is a real beauty, with an arching form and pendent inflorescence, large white flowers with variable amount of red or pink markings on the labellum. The bracts are dark red making a nice contrast. Shown here is the variation in flower colors I have seen on this plant both in Ecuador and in Peru as well as in my own seed-grown plants. 
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Okay Costus fans, this one really has me mystified. I first collected this species in 2007 at a small private botanical reserve owned by a very eccentric young man the locals call "El Gato" because of his green eyes, unusual for the indo-hispanic residents of the area. It's a long story, but if you are interested and if you can read Spanish find my story of about this plant exploration trip on my website at