Costus comosus
Native from southern Mexico through Central America into parts of northern and western South America, this plant is a perennial herb reaching about ten feet tall. Underground rhizomes produce leafy stems with narrow, elliptical to spoon-shaped leaves arranged in spirals. The leaf undersides are usually soft and hairy. Upright, egg-shaped to cylindrical flowerheads carry red bracts with conspicuous spreading or recurved, leaflike tips. Yellow flowers emerge between the bracts, their lips rolled inward to form narrow tubes. The fruits are small, elongated capsules. The species grows in moist forests, riverbank forests and clearings. Photographed in QuindĂo, Colombia.
