About Costus woodsonii Maas
Costus woodsonii, commonly called red button ginger or scarlet spiral flag, is a flowering plant species belonging to the family Costaceae. It is native to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. It is a rhizomatous, geophytic perennial plant. It is recommended for use in coastal gardens, garden borders, containers, and general wet tropical garden settings, and it is more widely cultivated than any other Costus species. This species was first formally described by Paul Maas in 1972, and it is named in honor of Robert Woodson of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Ecologically, the inflorescence of C. woodsonii bears bracts that produce extrafloral nectar. This nectar attracts ants, which disrupt the egg-laying process of the plant’s herbivores. White-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) are known to eat Costus woodsonii.
