Costaceae FAMILY
Costus guanaiensis
Costus guanaiensis
Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5
Safety & Hazards
None known
Botanical Description
Costus guanaiensis is a herbaceous, perennial plant producing usually unbranched stems 2 - 6 metres tall from a creeping, tuberous rhizome[ 656 Title Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Publication Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Vol. 52 Author Acevedo-Rodríguez P. & Strong M.T. (Editors) Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Smithsonian Institution; Washington. Year 2005 ISBN 0097-1618 Description A treatment of the monocots and gymnosperms growing in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use of its edible flowers and stem juice.
Habitat & Origin
Origintropical
Native RangeS. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana; C. America - Panama to Mexico; Caribbean - Trinidad, Puerto Rico.
HabitatMoist to wet thickets at elevations from 90 - 860 metres in Puerto Rico[ 656 Title Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Publication Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Vol. 52 Author Acevedo-Rodríguez P. & Strong M.T. (Editors) Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Smithsonian Institution; Washington. Year 2005 ISBN 0097-1618 Description A treatment of the monocots and gymnosperms growing in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ].