Family: Costaceae

Red tower ginger is a flowering herbaceous plant. It grows best in shady places with deep mulch and thrives in warm, humid shade. While red tower ginger can handle some sun, plant it in the darkest spot in the garden. This plant reproduces from rhizomes, which can be difficult to eradicate (dig up) if they become unwanted. The long-lasting inflorescence rises above the green foliage like a torch. The red bracts are persistent and keep their color. The yellow corollas the emerge between the bracts are short-lived. Once established, these flowers are drought tolerant. Native to Costa Rica, hummingbirds pollinate this herbaceous plant. This plant is unlikely to produce seeds in Hawaii, considering the lack of a pollinator.

The common name is confusing as it’s not a true ginger. However, the differences between ginger and costus are easy to understand once you know what to look for. The Costus genus, in general, has spirally arranged leaves and produces no aromatic oils.

Plant Uses:

• Container plant
• Cut flower
• Edible
• Hedge
• Ornamental

Plant Dangers:

• No dangers

High Risk Traits:

• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Other Costus species have naturalized and may be invasive
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Reproduces vegetatively by rhizomes
  
• Lack of ecological information minimizes accuracy of risk prediction

Low Risk Traits:

• No evidence of naturalization or invasiveness outside native range
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Non-toxic
  
• Edible flowers
  
• Ornamental value
  
• Hummingbird-pollinated in native range (may limit seed set where hummingbirds are absent)
  
• Limited or lacking seed production may minimize longer distance dispersal