Costaceae

Costaceae is a pantropical family that contains about 100 species, divided into 7 genera: Monocostus (1 sp.), Dimerocostus (2 spp.), Tapeinochilos (16 spp.), Paracostus (2 spp.), Chamaecostus (~8 spp.), Cheilocostus (~4 spp.), Costus (~8 spp.). Flowers are often showy (sometimes the bracts are showier) and are arranged in a terminal head (except for Monocostus with only one flower per inflorescence). Infertile stamens are fused to form an labellum which serves to attract pollinators. The plants contain no aromatic oils.

We have species of Costus, Monocostus, and Tapeinochilos on the wiki.


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Page last modified on October 31, 2009, at 07:22 AM
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