Costaceae

Costaceae
	Tapeinochilos ananassae of the family Costaceae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Costaceae; Nakai
Genera
	Monocostus; Dimerocostus; Chamaecostus; Costus; Hellenia; Paracostus; Tapeinochilos;

Costaceae, or the Costus family, 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^[2] (1 in Monocostus, 2 in Dimerocostus, 16 in Tapeinochilos, 2 in Paracostus, ca. 8 in Chamaecostus, ca. 5 in Hellenia, and ca. 80 in Costus).^[3] They are native to tropical climates of Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America. Several species are frequently found in cultivation.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Tapeinochilos ananassae (wax ginger)
Cheilocostus speciosus (crêpe ginger)

References

^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
^ Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
^ 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).

External links

Classification of Costaceae
Hellenia, the correct name for Cheilocostus At volume 151 At Online Content At Phytotaxa
Distribution Map And Genus list At Costaceae At Zingiberales At: Trees At: APweb At: botanical databases At: About Science & Conservation At: Missouri Botanical Garden
The Families of Flowering Plants by L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz.
Family Costaceae

[APGIII2009-1] Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III" (PDF). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. Retrieved 2013-06-26.

[Christenhusz-Byng2016-2] Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.

[specht2006-3] 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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