Costus afer
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ff4673d6ef569424456 |
| Scientific name | Costus afer |
| Authority | Ker Gawl. |
| First published in | Bot. Reg. 8: t. 683 (1823) |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Costus afer (Ker Gawl.) is cultivated and wild-harvested in West and Central Africa primarily for its rhizomes, which are processed into beverages and staple foods. In Nigeria and neighboring countries, rhizomes are peeled, boiled, mashed, sweetened, and optionally lightly fermented to produce a non-alcoholic refreshing drink; dried slices are also marketed for beverage preparation. The same plant part is used as a starchy staple after boiling or roasting, and dried rhizome may be milled into a flour or meal for local dishes. These uses rely on the species’ high starch content and mucilaginous texture.
No documented non-medicinal industrial applications such as fiber, timber, gum/resin, dyes, or fragrance have been identified for Costus afer. There is no evidence of widespread commercialization, regulation, or sustainability frameworks; the plant is not listed in major food or timber standards and is handled as a minor, local food product rather than an industrial crop.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Costus anomocalyx | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 396 (1904) |
| Costus deistelii | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 393 (1904) |
| Costus edulis | De Wild. & T.Durand | Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique , Compt. Rend. 38: 141 (1899) |
| Costus insularis | A.Chev. | Explor. Bot. Afrique Occ. Franc. 1: 627. 1920 (1920) |
| Costus megalobractea | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 407 (1904) |
| Costus oblitterans | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 393 (1904) |
| Costus pterometra | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 394 (1904) |
| Costus pulcherrimus | A.Chev. | Mém. Soc. Bot. France 8: 304. 1917 (1917) |
| Costus sarmentosus | Bojer | Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. , sér. 2, 4: 262 (1835) |
| Costus subbiflorus | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 394 (1904) |
| Costus trachyphyllus | K.Schum. | Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 15: 420 (1892) |
| Costus ulugurensis | K.Schum. | Pflanzenr. , IV, 46: 396 (1904) |
| Costus bingervillensis | A.Chev. | Explor. Bot. Afrique Occ. Franç. 1: 627 (1920) |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| Czech | kostus africký |
| Chinese | 戴氏闭鞘姜 |
| Chinese | 猴蔗西闭鞘姜 |
| Chinese | 非洲闭鞘姜 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Africa click to expand
-
East Tropical Africa
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Uganda
-
Northeast Tropical Africa
- Ethiopia
- Sudan
-
South Tropical Africa
- Angola
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Zimbabwe
-
West Tropical Africa
- Benin
- Burkina
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast
- Liberia
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
-
West-central Tropical Africa
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Gulf Of Guinea Islands
- Zaïre
-
East Tropical Africa
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000362821 |
| UNII | 568PDH396K |
| Tropicos | 34500381 |
| INPN | 629430 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:796260-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-234553 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 353007 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 328752 |
| IPNI | 796260-1 |
| iNaturalist | 142627 |
| GBIF | 2756876 |
| EOL | 1122531 |
| USDA GRIN | 11685 |
| Wikipedia | Costus_afer |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_056592515.1 | ASM5659251v1 | Scaffold | Iridian Genomes | 2026-04-05 | 60 | 1.11 Gb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Steroids and steroid derivatives / Steroidal glycosides / Steroidal saponins | |||||
| (2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-5-[(2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2-[(1S,2S,4S,5'R,6R,7S,8R,9S,12S,13R,16S)-5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl]oxyoxane-3,4-diol | 162843158 | Click to see | 708.90 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| (2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-2-[(2R,3S,4S,5R,6R)-5-[(2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-4-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-6-[(1S,2S,4S,5'R,6R,7S,8R,9S,12S,13R,16S)-5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl]oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | 102003032 | Click to see | 855.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(96)00340-8 |
| (2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-2-[(2S,3S,4S,5R,6S)-4-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-6-[(1S,2S,4S,5'R,6R,7S,8R,9S,12S,13R,16S)-5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl]oxy-5-[(2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | 154496365 | Click to see | 869.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| [(2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-6-[(2R,3R,4S,5S,6R)-5-[(2S,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-4-hydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2-[(1S,2S,4S,5'R,6R,7S,8R,9S,12S,13R,16S)-5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl]oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methyloxan-3-yl] acetate | 162995739 | Click to see | 897.10 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| [6-[5-[3,4-Dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-4-hydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl)oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-4,5-dihydroxy-2-methyloxan-3-yl] acetate | 85156484 | Click to see | 897.10 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| 2-[4-Hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-6-(5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl)oxy-5-(3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl)oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | 271916 | Click to see | 869.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| 2-[5-[3,4-Dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-4-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-6-(5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl)oxyoxan-3-yl]oxy-6-methyloxane-3,4,5-triol | 163043933 | Click to see | 855.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(96)00340-8 |
| 5-[3,4-Dihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]oxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(5',7,9,13-tetramethylspiro[5-oxapentacyclo[10.8.0.02,9.04,8.013,18]icos-18-ene-6,2'-oxane]-16-yl)oxyoxane-3,4-diol | 73092076 | Click to see CC1CCC2(C(C3C(O2)CC4C3(CCC5C4CC=C6C5(CCC(C6)OC7C(C(C(C(O7)CO)OC8C(C(CO8)(CO)O)O)O)O)C)C)C)OC1 | 708.90 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| Aferoside B | 10724398 | Click to see | 897.10 | unknown |
https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(96)00340-8 https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| Aferoside C | 10604831 | Click to see | 708.90 | unknown |
https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9422(96)00340-8 https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| Dioscin | 119245 | Click to see CC1CCC2(C(C3C(O2)CC4C3(CCC5C4CC=C6C5(CCC(C6)OC7C(C(C(C(O7)CO)OC8C(C(C(C(O8)C)O)O)O)O)OC9C(C(C(C(O9)C)O)O)O)C)C)C)OC1 | 869.00 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavonoid glycosides / Flavonoid O-glycosides / Flavonoid-3-O-glycosides | |||||
| 5,7-Dihydroxy-2-phenyl-3-(3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl)oxychromen-4-one | 74977990 | Click to see | 416.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| 5,7-dihydroxy-2-phenyl-3-[(2S,3R,4R,5R,6S)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxychromen-4-one | 163190171 | Click to see | 416.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
| Afzelin | 5316673 | Click to see | 432.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1021/NP9702190 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |