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Costus chartaceus, the Christmas costus, is a perennial rhizomatous plant from the wet tropical forests of Colombia and Ecuador, grown for its red inflorescence. It needs warmth, humidity and steady moisture, and is not frost hardy.
Costus chartaceus, commonly known as the Christmas costus, is a perennial plant with a red inflorescence first described by Paul Maas in 1972. It is native to Colombia and Ecuador but cultivated as an ornamental in other regions. It is not winter hardy.
Costus chartaceus is similar in appearance to Costus prancei and Costus sprucei.
Spiral Ginger · Costus barbatus · Red Tower Ginger · Costus curvibracteatus · Costus erythrophyllus · African Spiral Flag · Costus malortieanus · Red Rose Ginger · Costus productus · Spiral ginger · Indian Head Ginger · Spiked spiralflag
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Costus chartaceus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
