Costus spectabilis
(Fenzl) K.Schum.
Costaceae
Cadalvena dalzielii C.H.Wright
Cadalvena pistiifolia (K.Schum.) Baker
Cadalvena spectabilis Fenzl
Costus pistiifolius K.Schum.
Kaempferia spectabilis (Fenzl) Baker
Common Name:
Flowering several weeks before the leafs appear in Chipata, Zambia.
Photograph by: Hans Hillewaert
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
General Information
Costus spectabilis is a herbaceous perennial plant. It flowers several weeks before the leaves appear.
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its edible leaves. It is often grown as an ornamental in gardens[
736- Title
- Flora of West Tropical Africa
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=2025
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online flora, not yet complet (2012). Very comprehensive as regards to species covered, but the information on each species is often rather terse.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
736- Title
- Flora of West Tropical Africa
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=2025
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online flora, not yet complet (2012). Very comprehensive as regards to species covered, but the information on each species is often rather terse.
Range
Tropical Africa - Senegal to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Habitat
Rocky savannah; black soil in Oxytenanthera thicket with Combretum-Terminalia woodland; in shade on sandy soil in open Combretum-Terminalia or Isoberlinia woodland; elsewhere in seasonal grassland; often around termitaria; among rocks; 150 - 1,850 m[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial |
| Height | 0.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Ornamental, Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
Leaves[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. An acid flavour[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
