PLANT FAMILY: Costaceae BOTANICAL NAME: Costus 'Firebird' FORMAL SCIENTIFIC NAME: STATUS : CONTINENT: Neotropical SYNONYMS: BOTANICAL NOTES: This plant was originally received in 2003 tagged as Costus comosus, and indeed it has some characters of that species. I received a division of the plant from Linda Gay with Mercer Arboretum in Houston, and she had received it from Tom Wood. It grew well and flowered beautifully, but then declined and for several years I thought I had lost it. I had only one small plant still tagged as such but it looked exactly like Costus osae, so I was uncertain if I might have mixed them up until finally this year I have brought it back to flower and was able to verify that I had it tagged correctly. I also received some photos recently from a contact at a nursery in South Florida who had once received the same plant from Tom Wood. When I started reviewing my own photos of the flower details I suddenly realized that this plant has the SAME BICARINATE (TWO-KEELED) BRACTEOLE as Costus osae. This character is only recorded in two species of Costus - C. osae and C. ricus. All others have a single keeled bracteole, shaped like a canoe whereas those two species have the two-keeled bracteole more like a flat bottom boat and the bracteole wraps around the calyx. I contacted Tom Wood to find out the origin of the plant and he told me that his records only show receiving it from Fairchild Gardens, or possibly Flamingo Gardens from David Bar-Zvi (who worked both places). Based on the bicarinate bracteole and the similarity of the vegetative parts - nearly identical to Costus osae - I have now concluded this is most likely a hybrid of C. osae with C. comosus - both of which have been cultivated in South Florida for many years. I am giving this plant a cultivar name of 'Firebird' for the red and yellow flames of the inflorescence and the wing-like bracts. Cultivar description: A key character distinguishing this cultivar is the bicarinate bracteole like Costus osae, but with bright yellow instead of reddish flowers. This plant looks almost exactly like Costus osae until it flowers. Stems and leaves are soft and hairy, leaves light green, ligule very short, plant grows to about 1/2 meter tall. The inflorescence is entirely different having characters of Costus comosus with red triangular bracts, only lower bracts with appendages, and with yellow tubular flowers that extend well beyond the bracts. Cultivar Registry Photo at www.gingersrus.com/Registry/Costus_Firebird.jpg GINGERSRUS CATALOG LISTING: |