Costus acreanus

Native to western Amazonia, from Colombia and Ecuador south to Peru and Bolivia and east into northern Brazil, it is a perennial herb reaching about fifteen feet tall. Underground rhizomes produce stems with spirally arranged, narrow leaves whose undersides are often purple or dark red. Egg-shaped to cylindrical flowerheads commonly nod and usually form at the tips of leafy shoots. Their overlapping green, purple or red bracts are often finely hairy. Large white to pink flowers have a broad, spreading lip, a yellow central mark and irregularly lobed edges. Elongated capsules enclose the seeds. The species grows in moist forests, seasonally flooded forests and marshes. Photographed in Ecuador.