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Costus spicatus
Also called Spiked Spiral Flag, Indian Head Ginger
In Singapore: Indian Head Ginger, Spiked Spiralflag (Grown in Singapore)
Spiked spiralflag is a rhizomatous herbaceous plant from the Costaceae family, grown for its red cone and red-orange flowers. It needs consistent moisture to do well in full sun.
Costus spicatus, also known as spiked spiralflag ginger or Indian head ginger, is a species of herbaceous plant in the Costaceae family (also sometimes placed in Zingiberaceae). Common names in the Antilles include cumani, gengibre cimarron, gengibrillo, canne d’eau, and la canne de rivière.
Costus spicatus will grow in full sun if it is kept moist. It reaches a maximum height of about 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m).
Costus spicatus is native to some islands of the Caribbean (including Dominica, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Martinique, and Puerto Rico). There has been some confusion about the native range of Costus spicatus. Kew Botanical Gardens lists it as native to Mexico. It has been described as exotic or native to Cuba. Costus spicatus is possibly invasive in lower montane rainforests on Saint Lucia, where botanist Roger Graveson considers it to be an escaped exotic.
Costus spicatus has several traditional uses. According to the Lacandon Maya, Costus spicatus increases soil fertility, is edible, and is a medicine. Other groups also use it in traditional medicine. The Totonac people use Costus spicatus to treat kidney problems and hepatitis. In Trinidad, it has been used to treat sexually transmitted infections. In São Tomé, it is known to be used as a diuretic.
Spiral Ginger · Costus barbatus · Costus chartaceus · Red Tower Ginger · Costus curvibracteatus · Costus erythrophyllus · African Spiral Flag · Costus malortieanus · Red Rose Ginger · Costus productus · Spiral ginger · Indian Head Ginger
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Costus spicatus 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.
