Monographs Details:
Authority:

Maas, Paulus J. M. 1972. Costoideae (Zingiberaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 8: 1-140. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:

Costaceae
Scientific Name:

Costus guanaiensis Rusby
Description:

Description - Plants stout (o.5-)2-6 m tall. Sheaths, ligules, petioles, leaves, and bracts glabrous, puberulous, sericeous, villose, strigose or hirsute. Sheaths 10-40 mm in diam. Ligule truncate, 5-10(-15) mm long. Petiole 5-20 mm long. Leaves narrowly ovate to narrowly obovate, cuneate, rounded, or rarely cordate at the base, shortly acuminate at the apex, (13-) 20-65 cm long, 5-15 cm wide. Inflorescence ovoid, obtuse, 5-15 (-30) cm long, 4-6(-10) cm wide, terminating a leafy stem, or on a separate leafless shoot to 50 cm long, sheaths obliquely truncate, to 8.5 cm long, to 3.5 cm wide. Bracts green in the exposed part, red or rarely green in the covered part, coriaceous, broadly ovate, 2-4(-6) cm long and 1-5-5 cm wide, callus absent, or to 10 mm long; appendages rarely absent, foliaceous, rigid, green, ascending or slightly reflexed, narrowly triangular to deltate, 2-4(-10) cm long, 1.5-2 (-4) cm wide. Bracteole red, often greenish-tipped, 25-40 mm long, glabrous to densely puberulous. Calyx red, (7-) 14-18(-22) mm long, glabrous to densely puberulous, lobes triangular to shallowly triangular, (2-) 3-6 mm long. Corolla white, reddish white, or yellowish white, 70-100 mm long, glabrous to rather densely puberulous, tube ca 20 mm long, lobes narrowly obovate, (50-)60-80 mm long, 15-35 mm wide. Labellum white or yellowish white, broadly obovate when spread out, 75-110 mm long, 60-70 mm wide, lateral lobes usually striped with red, middle lobe reflexed, blotched with yellow to orange in the centre. Stamen narrowly elliptic, white to pinkish white, 40-60 mm long, 7-20 mm wide, apex obtuse or obscurely three-lobed, anther 10-14 mm long. Ovary 5-10 mm long, densely puberulo-sericeous to glabrous. Capsule ellipsoid, 12-22 mm long, densely puberulo-sericeous to glabrous, seeds black.

Distribution:

Central America| South America|