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<big>''[[Costus afer]]'' Ker Gawl.</big>
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Costus afer'' (PROTA)}}
:Family: Costaceae
:Chromosome number: 2''n'' 2n = 18, 36 == Synonyms ==
== Vernacular names ==
*Bush cane, ginger lily, spiral ginger (En). *Costus, gingembre spirale (Fr). *Fia ipqueté (Po).
== Origin and geographic distribution ==
''Costus'' is pantropical and comprises about 70 species, of which about 40 species in tropical America, about 25 in tropical Africa and about 5 in South-East Asia. The African ''Costus'' spp. are much in need of revision, especially the large forest species which are difficult to collect for herbarium collections. ''Costus afer'' and ''Costus lucanusianus'' J.Braun & K.Schum. are closely related species, mainly differing in the form of the inflorescence, the number of flowers enclosed by the bracts and the colour of the flowers. In ''Costus afer'' the inflorescence is cone-like, each bract covers 2 flowers and the corolla is white with a yellow throat, whereas in ''Costus lucanusianus'' the inflorescence is globose, each bract covers 1 flower and the corolla is white with a red lip and yellow throat. In southern Nigeria ''Costus afer'' and ''Costus lucanusianus'' produce hybrids.
Other ''Costus'' spp. with medicinal uses in West Africa are ''[[Costus deistelii]]'' K.Schum., ''[[Costus dubius]]'' (Afzel.) K.Schum., ''[[Costus englerianus]]'' K.Schum., ''[[Costus schlechteri]]'' Winkler and the ornamental ''[[Costus spectabilis]]'' (Fenzl) K.Schum. An extract of the inflorescences and stems of all species is taken to treat cough and stomach complaints. Leaf and stem sap is used as eye drops to treat eye infections and as nose drops to cure headache, in frictions or a vapour bath to treat oedema and fever, or applied to treat urethral discharges, venereal diseases, jaundice and to prevent miscarriage. Rhizome pulp is applied to abscesses, ulcers and Guinea worm to mature them. The rhizome decoction of ''Costus dubius'' is taken to treat epilepsy; it is also a diuretic and febrifuge. The boiled leaves of ''Costus schlechteri'' are also applied to smallpox and are taken to treat diabetes. The rhizomes of ''Costus deistelii'' yield 0.25% total steroidal sapogenins, with 0.15% diosgenin.
== Growth and development ==
== Author(s) ==
* G. Aweke , P.O. Box 4278, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
== Correct citation of this article ==
Aweke, G., 2007. '''Costus afer''' Ker Gawl. [Internet] Record from PROTA4U. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. <http://www.prota4u.org/search.asp>. Accessed {{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}.
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[[Category:PROTA prov]][[Category:Medicinal plants (PROTA)]]