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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Costus barbatus - The Red Tower Ginger



Scientific name: Costus barbatus
Common name: Spiral ginger, red tower ginger
Family: Costaceae
Origin: Costa Rica
Category: Tropical perennial herb
Photo Taken at: Floria 2010

Costus barbatus 'Red' (Costaceae) at Floria 2010 - Wordless Wednesday”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on April 19th, 2011.

Costus barbatus grows in a clump, reaching a height of about 6ft. The inflorescences consist of bright, glossy red bracts that contrast beautifully with the clear yellow true flowers. The yellow tubular flowers are edible with a delightful sour lemony flavour. Grow in full sun or shade, USDA Zone 8-11. In the tropics, it is ever-blooming and the inflorescences can last for months. They attract hummingbirds. Good as cut flowers

This is my entry for Ruby Tuesday, thanks to Work of the Poet, the link is here.

5 comments:

  1. Kwiaty są tak inne od tych, co rosną u nas, dlatego z taką przyjemnoscią się je ogląda.Pozdrawiam

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  2. Can this be eaten too, like the bunga kantan? I already memorized your term for it!

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  3. The flowers are supposed to be edible. Maybe this flower can be eaten as a whole since it is so small. For bunga kantan, we cut it to tiny pieces and use it as garnishing.

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  4. My mom loves this flower. Everytime I see this it reminds me of her. Thanks for sharing!

    Female Cardinal

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  5. This was beautiful, so colorful ;))

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Yay! You like flowers too.