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African spiral flag (Costus lucanusianus)

Dlium African spiral flag (Costus lucanusianus)

African spiral flag (Costus lucanusianus) is a species of plant in the Costaceae, herbaceous or shrub, up to 2 meters high, cylindrical stem, upright with a spiral movement, green with reddish midrib stripes, grows on forest floors, river banks, roadsides and abandoned lands.

C. lucanusianus has oval-shaped leaves, up to 30 cm long, up to 10 cm wide, pointed tip and base, a vein in the middle, dark green upper surface and pale green lower surface. Petioles are very short.



The inflorescence is in a tuber at the end of the stem, cone-shaped and about 10 cm long. The flowers are funnel-shaped, the outside is white, the inside is red with a yellow spot.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Costaceae
Genus: Costus L. in Sp. Pl.: 2 (1753)
Species: Costus lucanusianus J.Braun & K.Schum. in Ber. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. 2: 151 (1889)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Costus dussii K.Schum. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 46(Heft 20): 402 (1904)
Costus lucanusianus var. major K.Schum. in H.G.A.Engler (ed.), Pflanzenr., IV, 46(Heft 20): 392 (1904)

PUBLICATIONS

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.

Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.

Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Gosline, G., Bidault, E., van der Burgt, X., Cahen, D., Challen, G., Condé, N., Couch, C., Couvreur, T.L.P., Dagallier, L.M.J., Darbyshire, I., Dawson, S., Doré, T.S., Goyder, D., Grall, A., Haba, P., Haba, P., Harris, D., Hind, D.J.N., Jongkind, & al. (2023). A Taxonomically-verified and Vouchered Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Republic of Guinea. Nature, scientific data 10, Article number: 327: [1]-[12].

Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.

Lejoy, J., Ndjele, M.-B. & Geerinck, D. (2010). Catalogue-flore des plantes vasculaires des districts de Kisangani et de la Tshopo (RD Congo). Taxonomania. Revue de Taxonomie et de Nomenclature Botaniques 30: 1-307.

Maas-van de Kamer, H., Maas, P.J.M., Wieringa, J.J. & Specht, C.D. (2016). Monograph of African Costaceae. Blumea 61: 280-318.

Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.

Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon. Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.

Velayos, M., Aedo, C., Cabezas, F., de la Estrella, M., Barberá, P. & Fero, M. (eds.) (2014). Flora de Guinea Ecuatorial 11: 1-416. Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas, Real jardín botánico, Madrid.

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 非洲螺旋旗 - 彩旗宝塔姜
Chinese (traditional): 非洲彩旗閉鞘薑
English: African Spiral Flag
French: Canne d'eau de Lucanus
Indonesian: Pacing
Java: Pacing

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