Costus pulverulentus

{{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 =

| 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.{{cite web |url=https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1035 |title=Costus Species, Red Cigar, Spiral Ginger |author= |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 }} It is native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and it has been introduced to Cuba and Florida.{{cite POWO |id=796364-1 |title=Costus pulverulentus C.Presl |access-date=27 January 2024 }}{{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 }} It is invasive in Hawaii.

A rhizomatous perennial reaching {{cvt|4|to|6|ft}}, Costus pulverulentus is typically found in wet tropical areas. It is used as an ornamental, and there are cultivars, including 'Serena', 'Pink Lips', and 'Purple Passion'.{{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 }}{{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 }}

Costus pulverulentus has a number of traditional medicinal applications. Ngäbe curanderos in Panama sell it to women suffering from pain after giving birth.{{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 }} In Ecuador, Costus pulverulentus is traditionally macerated and placed on snakebites by members of the Tsáchila people.{{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 }} In Tlanchinol, Hidalgo, Mexico, a Costus pulverulentus infusion is made for people afflicted with kidney problems and fever.{{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 }}