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ACCESSION #: | R2969 |
IDENTIFIED AS: | Costus erythrophyllus 'Grey Ghost' |
LOCATION: | Le Jardin Ombragé |
SOURCE: | Smithsonian, USBRG #1994-680, origin unknown. |
DETERMINATION: | By Dave Skinner, characters match closely to the description by Maas - green appendaged bracts, ligule <38 mm, labellum colors, plicate leaves reddish underneath, and larger bract appendages and calyx. Similar specimen at Lyon Arboretum has been determined by Dr. Chelsea Specht to be Costus acreanus, but this clearly has appendages to the bracts. |
GENERAL: | It is suberficially very different looking from any other specimen of C. erythrophyllus that I have seen, primarilly due to the grey-green color of the abaxial side of the leaves. It is a medium sized Costus with beautiful foliage, grey-green upper sides of leaves contrasted with deep purple undersides. The flowers, white with red and yellow markings on the labellum, appeared both terminally on leafy shoots and on new basal shoots with few leaves. |
RHIZOME : | |
SHEATH: | Purple, glabrous, 7 mm in diameter. |
LIGULE: | Purple, with a few sericious hairs, lobe is distinctly raised, ligule length is 15-18 mm. |
PETIOLE: | Purplish green, glabrous, 10 mm long and 12 mm wide. |
LEAVES: | Plicate, obovate to elliptical, 32-36 cm long by 10-12 cm wide, adaxial (upper) side grey-green, glabrous, abaxial (under) side deep purple, glabrous. Base cuneate to rounded, apex acuminate, short acumen about 1 mm long. |
INFLORESCENCE: | Terminal on a leafy stem or basal on a separate shoot. More or less round in shape, 6 cm long and 7 cm wide at maturity. Unless otherwise noted, description below is of terminal inflo on a tall leafy stem, also blooms basal from shorter stem. |
BRACTS: | Red in covered part, graduating to green near the appendage, sparsely puberulous, middle measurements 3.8 cm long and 3 cm wide (basal), 3 cm by 2 cm terminal. |
APPENDAGE: | Green with some splashes of purple, sparsely puberulous, triangular, basal 3.5 cm long by 2.8 cm wide, terminal 3 cm long by 2 cm wide. |
BRACTEOLE: | Red, sparsely puberulous, 2.6 cm long by .5 cm wide (folded). |
CALYX: | Red, sparsely puberulous, 1.5 cm long by .7 cm wide. |
COROLLA: | Creamy yellow, glabrous, center lobe 5 cm long by 2 cm wide. |
LABELLUM: | Broad, glabrous, pale yellow with pinkish red stripes and yellow center, 8.5 cm long by 6 cm wide when spread.. |
STAMEN: | Pinkish red, sparsely pubescent, 4.5 cm long by 1 cm wide, |
STIGMA: | |
OTHER: | |