Costus costus

 

(Costaceae)

Masís, A., Guadamuz, A., Espinoza, R.,Perez, D. and Chavarría, F. 1998. Costus costus (Costaceae) Species Page, March 10, 1998. Species Home Pages, Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica. http://www.acguanacaste.ac.cr

I. Identification:

Herb 0.3-0.5 cm tall.

Flower:

Fruits:

Leaves:

They are easily distinguished by the spiral form of the leaf arrangement.

 

Upper surface

 

Under surface

 

 

Leaves arranged in a spiral

 

Bark and wood:

The stem is very pubescent.

 View of the stem

 

Whole plant architecture:

Similar species:

Verification:

II.Geographic distribution:

International:

In Costa Rica

In the Area de Conservación Guanacaste:

 Map of macro-habitats of the ACG

III. Natural History:

IV. How to find:

In the El Hacha sector, near the waterfall.

Acknowledgements.

This project was carried out by the Area de Conservación Guanacaste/CR, with help from INBio/CR, ICBG from the Foggarty center, NIH/USA and NSF/USA.

Thanks to Kate Beattie and Alexandra Kern for helping with the image management and the translation of this species page.

Literature cited.