Costus phyllocephalus

K. Schum

Costaceae Edible: Leaves, Stem, Vegetable 235 iNaturalist observations

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iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Description

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. The plant is somewhat like ginger. It has a rhizome of thickened underground stem and a stem up to 50 cm tall. The leaves are arranged in spirals. They are simple and the sheath forms a closed tube. The leaf blade is sword shaped and 8-17 cm long by 4-7 cm wide. They taper to the tip. The flowering stalk is at the top. It has a head 5 cm across with large bracts. The flowers have both sexes. There is a tube 1.5 cm long. The lobes are fused at the base. The lower lobe is pink and 5 cm long by 5 cm wide. It has a white throat. The fruit is a capsule with a crown at the top. There are many seeds.

Edible Uses

The young leaves and stems are eaten raw as a salad and are used as a popular vegetable.

Traditional Uses

The young leaves and stems are eaten raw as a salad.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Central Africa, Congo DR,

Other Information

It is a popular vegetable.

Notes

There are 90-150 Costus species. There are about 60 in tropical America.

Also Known As

Munkeni, Munkuiza, Tulukako

References (6)

Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 225
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 70
Latham, P., 2004, Useful Plants of Bas-Congo province. Salvation Army & DFID p 95
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 225
Termote, C., et al, 2011, Eating from the wild: Turumbu, Mbole and Bali traditional knowledge of non-cultivated edible plants, District Tshopo, DRCongo, Gen Resourc Crop Evol. 58:585-618

Show all 6 references