{{Short description|Species of plant}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Speciesbox | image = Costus pulverulentus.jpg | image_caption = Inflorescence | image2 = Costus pulverulentus2.jpg | image2_caption = Habit | genus = Costus | species = pulverulentus | authority = C.Presl | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO_796364-1" /> | synonyms = *''Costus formosus'' {{small|C.V.Morton}} *''Costus laxus'' {{small|Petersen}} *''Costus ruber'' {{small|C.Wright ex Griseb.}} *''Costus sanguineus'' {{small|Donn.Sm.}} }}
'''''Costus pulverulentus''''', the '''red cigar''' or '''spiral ginger''' (a name it shares with other members of its family), is a species of flowering plant in the family Costaceae.<ref name="Daves_1035" >{{cite web |url=https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1035 |title=''Costus'' Species, Red Cigar, Spiral Ginger |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021 |website=Dave's Garden |publisher=MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-date=27 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127195000/https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1035 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and it has been introduced to Cuba and Florida.<ref name="POWO_796364-1" >{{cite POWO |id=796364-1 |title=''Costus pulverulentus'' C.Presl |access-date=27 January 2024 }}</ref><ref name="AtlasFL">{{cite web |last1=Wunderlin |first1=R. P. |last2=Hansen |first2=B. F. |last3=Franck |first3=A. R. |last4=Essig |first4=F. B. |title=Costus pulverulentus |url=https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant.aspx?id=4107 |website=Atlas of Florida Plants |publisher=Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida |access-date=4 August 2024 |archive-date=4 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804205003/https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant.aspx?id=4107 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is invasive in Hawaii.<ref name="GingersRus_3353" />
A rhizomatous perennial reaching {{cvt|4|to|6|ft}}, ''Costus pulverulentus'' is typically found in wet tropical areas.<ref name="Daves_1035" /> It is used as an ornamental, and there are cultivars, including 'Serena', 'Pink Lips', and 'Purple Passion'.<ref name="Daves_1035" /><ref name="RHS_230105" >{{cite web |title=''Costus pulverulentus'' 'Serena' |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/230105/i-costus-pulverulentus-i-serena/details |date=2024 |publisher=The Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-date=27 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127194948/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/230105/i-costus-pulverulentus-i-serena/details |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="GingersRus_3353" >{{cite web |url=http://www.gingersrus.com/DataSheet.php?PID=3353 |title=Gingersrus Database Taxon ID 3353 ''Costus pulverulentus'' |last1=Skinner |first1=Dave |date=2023 |website=gingersrus.com |publisher=Le Jardin Ombragé GingersRus.com |access-date=27 January 2024 |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705003137/http://www.gingersrus.com/DataSheet.php?PID=3353 |url-status=live }}</ref>
''Costus pulverulentus'' has a number of traditional medicinal applications. Ngäbe curanderos in Panama sell it to women suffering from pain after giving birth.<ref name="Joly">{{cite journal |last1=Joly |first1=L. G. |last2=Guerra |first2=S. |last3=Séptimo |first3=R. |last4=Solís |first4=P. N. |last5=Correa |first5=M. |last6=Gupta |first6=M. |last7=Levy |first7=S. |last8=Sandberg |first8=F. |title=Ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants used by the Guaymi Indians in Western Panama. Part I. |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=1987 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=145–171 |doi=10.1016/0378-8741(87)90085-7 |pmid=3657246 }}</ref> In Ecuador, ''Costus pulverulentus'' is traditionally macerated and placed on snakebites by members of the Colorado people.<ref name="Kvist">{{cite journal |last1=Kvist |first1=Lars Peter |last2=Holm-Nielsen |first2=Lauritz B. |title=Ethnobotanical aspects of lowland Ecuador |journal=Opera Botanica |date=1987 |volume=92 |pages=83–107 }}</ref> They also apply the sap of the rachis to infected and swollen eyes. In Tlanchinol, Hidalgo, Mexico, a ''Costus pulverulentus'' infusion is made for people afflicted with kidney problems and fever.<ref name="Cetto">{{cite journal |last1=Andrade-Cetto |first1=Adolfo |title=Ethnobotanical study of the medicinal plants from Tlanchinol, Hidalgo, México |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=2009 |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=163–171 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2008.12.008 |pmid=19146936 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23790944 |access-date=4 August 2024 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1136547}}
pulverulentus Category:Ornamental plants Category:Flora of Mexico Category:Flora of Central America Category:Flora of Colombia Category:Flora of Ecuador Category:Flora of Venezuela Category:Flora of the Venezuelan Antilles Category:Plants described in 1825 Category:Medicinal plants of South America
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