| Costaceae | |
|---|---|
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| Tapeinochilos ananassae of the family Costaceae | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Zingiberales |
| Family: | Costaceae Nakai[1] |
| Genera | |
Costaceae, known as the Costus family or spiral gingers, is a familyofpantropical monocots. It belongs to the order Zingiberales, which contains horticulturally and economically important plants such as the banana (Musaceae), bird-of-paradise (Strelitziaceae), and edible ginger (Zingiberaceae). The seven genera in Costaceae together contain about 143 known species[2] (1 in Monocostus, 2 in Dimerocostus, 16 in Tapeinochilos, 2 in Paracostus, c. 8 in Chamaecostus, c. 5 in Hellenia, and c. 80 in Costus).[3] They are nativetotropical climatesofAsia, Africa, Central America, and South America. Several species are frequently found in cultivation.[citation needed]
The simple leaves are entire and spirally arranged, with those toward the base of the stem usually bladeless. Leaf bases have a closed sheath with a ligule, or projection at the top of the sheath.
Costaceae is different from the other families of Zingiberales in that its species have 5 fused staminodes, rather than 2 or 3, and the Costaceae contain no aromatic oils. The fused infertile stamens form a large petaloid labellum that often functions to attract pollinators. The flowers are solitary in Monocostus. In the other genera, the flowers are borne in a terminal spike that ranges from elongate to nearly capitate. Each flower is subtended by a large bract. The fruit is a berryorcapsule. The rhizome is fleshy with tuberous roots.
| Cladogram: Phylogeny of Zingiberales[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Phylogenetic tree of the family.[citation needed]
 Families of Zingiberales | |
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| Banana-families |
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| Zingiberineae (Ginger-families) |
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| Costaceae |
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