Costus productus
Gleason ex Maas
Spiral ginger
(c) Dave Skinner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dave Skinner
(c) Dave Skinner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Flowers
The sweet flowers are eaten raw and used as a garnish in salads.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. In Brisbane Botanical Garden.
Australia, Colombia, Peru, South America*,
How to Identify
The leaves spiral around the stalks. The flower is a short cylinder shaped red cone. This produces long lasting orange flowers.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Costus productus, known as orange tulip ginger, dwarf orange ginger, or green mountain spiral flag, is a species of plant in the Costaceae family. Costus productus is native to South Colombia and Peru. Costus productus var. strigosis is a hairy variety from southern Colombia, while Costus productus var. productus is a smooth variety from Peru. The cultivated forms of Costus productus are all C. productus var. productus, and there are several different cultivars. The flowers of Costus productus are edible. The Yanesha people use Costus productus along with Bactris gasipaes and Bromelia species to treat symptoms of epilepsy. Costus productus has been often incorrectly identified as Costus curvibracteatus.
Names & Synonyms
References (2)
- http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant details.php
- Kew Plants of the World On line
