Costaceae
Family of flowering plants
title: "Costaceae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["costaceae", "commelinid-families", "taxa-named-by-takenoshin-nakai", "pantropical-flora"] description: "Family of flowering plants" topic_path: "general/costaceae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costaceae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Family of flowering plants ::
| image = Tapeinochilos ananassae2.jpg | image_caption = Tapeinochilos ananassae of the family Costaceae | taxon = Costaceae | authority = Nakai | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision =
- Chamaecostus C.D.Specht & D.W.Stev.
- Costus L.
- Dimerocostus Kuntze
- Hellenia Retz. (synonym Cheilocostus C.D.Specht)
- Monocostus K.Schum.
- Paracostus C.D.Specht
- Parahellenia N.H.Xia, Juan Chen, L.Y.Zeng & S.Jin Zeng
- Tapeinochilos Miq. |subdivision_ref =
Costaceae, known as the Costus family or spiral gingers, is a family of pantropical monocots. It belongs to the order Zingiberales, which contains horticulturally and economically important plants such as the banana (Musaceae), bird-of-paradise (Strelitziaceae), and edible ginger (Zingiberaceae). The seven genera in Costaceae together contain about 143 known species (1 in Monocostus, 2 in Dimerocostus, 16 in Tapeinochilos, 2 in Paracostus, 8 in Chamaecostus, c. 5 in Hellenia, and c. 80 in Costus). They are native to tropical climates of Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America. Several species are frequently found in cultivation.
Description
The simple leaves are entire and spirally arranged, with those toward the base of the stem usually bladeless. Leaf bases have a closed sheath with a ligule, or projection at the top of the sheath.
Costaceae is different from the other families of Zingiberales in that its species have 5 fused staminodes, rather than 2 or 3, and the Costaceae contain no aromatic oils. The fused infertile stamens form a large petaloid labellum that often functions to attract pollinators. The flowers are solitary in Monocostus. In the other genera, the flowers are borne in a terminal spike that ranges from elongate to nearly capitate. Each flower is subtended by a large bract. The fruit is a berry or capsule. The rhizome is fleshy with tuberous roots.
Taxonomy
| title= CladVICladogram: Phylogeny of Zingiberales | align=center | cladogram={{clade|style=font-size:100%;line-height:85% |label1=Zingiberales |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |label1=Zingiberineae |1={{clade |label1=Zingiberariae |1={{clade |1=Zingiberaceae |2=Costaceae}} |label2=Cannariae |2={{clade |1=Cannaceae |2=Marantaceae}}}} |2={{clade |label1=Strelitziineae |1={{clade |1= Lowiaceae |2= Strelitziaceae}} |2=Heliconiaceae}} |2={{clade |1=Musaceae}}}}}}}}
Phylogenetic tree of the family.
|label1=Costaceae |1={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Monocostus |2=Dimerocostus |2=Chamaecostus |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{clade |1=Tapeinochilos |2={{clade |1=Hellenia |2=Cheilocostus |2=Paracostus |2=Costus
Gallery
Tapeinochilus ananassae.JPG|Tapeinochilos ananassae (wax ginger) Starr 030807-0069 Costus speciosus.jpg|Cheilocostus speciosus (crêpe ginger) Wild crêpe ginger (Cheilocostus speciosus) - Bukidnon, Philippines 01.jpg|Spirally arranged leaves of wild Cheilocostus speciosus
References
Bibliography
References
- Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.
- "''Costaceae'' Nakai". [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]].
- (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Magnolia Press.
- Chelsea D. Specht & Dennis Wm. Stevenson. 2006. "A new phylogeny-based generic classification of Costaceae (Zingiberales)".''Taxon'' '''55'''(1):153-163. (See ''External links'' below).
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