Costaceae
Costus

Costus spiralis (Jacq.) Roscoe

First published in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 8: 350 (1807)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical America. It is a rhizomatous geophyte and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, as a medicine and for food.

Descriptions

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Amazonia, Andean, Guiana Shield, Caribbean, Orinoquia, Pacific. Elevation range: 55–1630 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caquetá, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Guainía, Guaviare, Magdalena, Meta, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindío, Santander, Vaupés, Vichada.
Habit
Herb.
Conservation
National Red List of Colombia (2021): Potential LC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland, native grassland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.
Vernacular
Cañagria, Cañaguate, Cañejo
[UPFC]

The Useful Plants of Boyacá project

Morphology General Habit
Herb.
Conservation
Least concern.
Distribution
Native from Colombia.
Ecology
Alt. 55 - 1630 m.
[UPB]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
cañagria, cañaguate, cañejo
[UNAL]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 55 - 1630 m.; Amazonia, Andes, Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena, Llanura del Caribe, Orinoquia, Pacífico, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Valle del Magdalena.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

Uses

Use Food
Used for food.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Use Medicines Unspecified Medicinal Disorders
Medicinal (State of the World's Plants 2016, Instituto Humboldt 2014).
[UPB]

Sources

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Neotropikey

    • Milliken, W., Klitgard, B. and Baracat, A. (2009 onwards), Neotropikey - Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants of the Neotropics.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0