CULTIVAR NAME: ‘Dwarf Star’
PARENTAGE: Costus productus
STATUS: Name accepted, established.
TYPE: species
REFERENCE: www.gingersrus.com/DataSheet.php?PID=7183
PUBLISHED: December 2013 in Heliconia Society Bulletin 19 (4)
REGISTRANT: D. Skinner
NOTES:
ORIGIN: Unknown
DESCRIPTION: Plant sold by Aloha Tropicals under the name ‘Barbatus Dwarf’ which is a non-compliant name under ISHS rules. In June 2016 a name-the-costus contest was held on Facebook group Planet Heliconia-Ginger, and the cultivar name ‘Dwarf Star’ was the winner. Plant grows to about 1 meter tall with glabrous, plicate leaves. It is similar to the Costus productus form that is common in cultivation (sometimes under the incorrect name of Costus curvibracteatus), but this cultivar has darker red colored bracts and yellow vs. orange flowers. The ligule has a distinctive reddish ring at the margin.
