About Costus comosus (Jacq.) Roscoe
Costus comosus (Jacq.) Roscoe, commonly called red tower ginger, is a plant species native to the range from southern Mexico to Ecuador. When cultivated, this species is cold hardy, but if it freezes back to the ground over winter, it will unlikely produce flowers. Chemical compounds found in Costus comosus have demonstrated anti-diabetic activity. In traditional medicine, the plant is used to treat a variety of conditions, including asthma, bronchitis, intestinal worms, diabetes, liver diseases, rashes, and fever. People in southern Ecuador specifically use Costus comosus to treat headache, liver pain, diabetes, influenza, and kidney ailments, and also use it as a diuretic. The scientific name Costus barbatus has frequently been mistakenly used for Costus comosus.
