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Costus Identifier Tool

Costus Identifier Tool

This is a query tool to be used as an aid in identifying an unknown Costus species. It will not always identify a plant, but will help you eliminate and narrow down the possibilities. In the form below, enter all the information you know about the plant you are trying to identify. If you are unsure about any of the items, skip past it or select "not sure". DO NOT MAKE AN ENTRY YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT as that might eliminate your plant from the species on the list. After you have entered the information, click SUBMIT and your browser will return a list of Costus species that match the descriptions you entered. Then you can click on any of the species on the list to see photos and more detailed descriptions of the resulting possibilities.

POSSIBLE COSTUS SPECIES OF YOUR PLANT

Click on a link in the ID column to see images and check the detailed description of that species.
IDBOTANICAL NAME
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#4041Chamaecostus congestiflorus
#3753Chamaecostus curcumoides
#3087Chamaecostus cuspidatus
#4860Chamaecostus fragilis
#4859Chamaecostus fusiformis
#4203Chamaecostus lanceolatus
#4610Chamaecostus subsessilis
#3432Cheilocostus globosus
#4618Cheilocostus lacerus
#4892Cheilocostus potierae
#3042Cheilocostus speciosus
#4616Cheilocostus tonkinensis
#4619Cheilocostus viridis
#7260Costus 'El Whiskey'
#4034Costus acreanus
#3430Costus afer
#4868Costus albus
#3351Costus allenii
#3216Costus amazonicus
#3594Costus arabicus
#3595Costus asplundii
#4870Costus asteranthus
#3074Costus barbatus
#4871Costus beckii
#3752Costus bracteatus
#4065Costus chartaceus
#4047Costus claviger
#4035Costus comosus
#7376Costus comosus 'Cliff Dweller'
#4863Costus comosus var. bakeri
#4605Costus cordatus
#4603Costus cupreifolius
#4317Costus curvibracteatus
#3754Costus deistelii
#4872Costus dewevrei
#3725Costus dirzoi
#3597Costus dubius
#4608Costus erythrocoryne
#3431Costus erythrophyllus
#4111Costus erythrothyrsus
#6100Costus foliaceus
#4875Costus gabonensis
#4609Costus geothyrsus
#3599Costus glaucus
#3726Costus guanaiensis
#3433Costus guanaiensis var. macrostrobilus
#3600Costus guanaiensis var. tarmicus
#4864Costus juruanus
#3601Costus laevis
#3602Costus lasius
#4878Costus lateriflorus
#4879Costus letestui
#3603Costus leucanthus
#3731Costus ligularis
#3435Costus lima
#4006Costus longebracteolatus
#3436Costus lucanusianus
#7264Costus lucanusianus var. major
#5233Costus Maas species A
#5234Costus Maas species B
#4882Costus maboumiensis
#7372Costus macranthus
#3604Costus maculatus
#3217Costus malortieanus
#3756Costus montanus
#4607Costus nitidus
#4884Costus nudicaulis
#3516Costus osae
#4886Costus phaeotrichus
#3075Costus pictus
#4606Costus plicatus
#3838Costus plowmanii
#3789Costus productus
#4008Costus quasi-appendiculatus
#4867Costus ricus
#4888Costus sarmentosus
#3607Costus scaber
#3608Costus spectabilis
#3225Costus spicatus
#2372Costus spiralis
#4604Costus sprucei
#3227Costus stenophyllus
#7355Costus subbiflorus
#3439Costus tappenbeckianus
#3758Costus vargasii
#3108Costus varzearum
#3354Costus villosissimus
#3839Costus vinosus
#4889Costus violaceus
#4049Costus wilsonii
#3695Costus woodsonii
#4602Costus zamoranus
#3759Costus zingiberoides
#3598Paracostus englerianus
#3605Paracostus paradoxus
HEIGHT - Is your Costus taller than 1 meter?
Choose the selection that best describes the mature height of your plant.


HABIT - Does your Costus grow in an upright habit?
Choose the selection that best describes the habit of your plant.


TUBULAR FLOWERS - Does your Costus have narrow tubular shaped flowers instead of spreading labellums? CLICK HERE to see examples.


APPENDAGES - Are there appendages on the ends of the bracts, including the upper bracts? CLICK HERE to see examples.


BASAL INFLORESCENCE - Is there an inflorescence ever borne at the base of the plant on a separate, almost leafless shoot? CLICK HERE to see examples.


TERMINAL INFLORESCENCE- Are the inflorescences ever produced at the end of a leafy stem? CLICK HERE to see examples.


LONG LIGULE - Are all the ligules longer than 10 mm above the point where the leaf petiole meets the stem? CLICK HERE to see examples.

If you want to narrow your query further, enter the actual average ligule length of your plant in millimeters here: mm.

BRACTS RED - Are the visible (exposed) parts of the bracts reddish or red-orange in color? CLICK HERE to see examples.

OPTIONAL: If you want to narrow your query, you can optionally enter the bract color here. Results are a bit unpredictable when using free text in a query, but you can always give it a try.

BRACTS FIBROUS - Are the margins of the bracts fibrous or frayed looking? CLICK HERE to see examples.


NARROW LEAVES - Are the leaves all distinctively long and narrow or grassy looking in shape?


TWO FLOWERS - Are there two or more flowers per bract, or only one flower in each bract? CLICK HERE to see examples.


FLOWER COLOR - Which of the following most closely describes the color or the flower? CLICK HERE to see examples.


BOAT SHAPED BRACTEOLE - Is the bracteole boat shaped (with a single edge) ? CLICK HERE to see examples.

If you want to narrow your query further, enter the average bracteole length of your plant in centimeters here: cm (to one decimal place, ie: 1.4 cm or 0.8 cm.)

LONG CALYX - Is the calyx longer than 10 mm? CLICK HERE to see examples.

If you want to narrow your query further, enter the actual average calyx length of your plant in centimeters here: cm (to one decimal place, ie: 1.4 cm or 0.8 cm.)

When you are done, click on the SUBMIT button to change the list of possibles to the right. The list will include any species that match all the selections you made, and will include any species where a particular characteristic is variable or not known, and has not been keyed in my database. After the results come back, you will be able to adjust your entries as necessary to either broaden the choices or narrow them down further. Your original entries will be remembered so you will not have to re-enter any selection showing a "Y" or an "N" unless you want to change it.