| Hi Regina, I may have mentioned this before, but the plant sold everywhere as Costus amazonicus 'Variegatus' is actually a variegated form of Costus arabicus - NOT amazonicus. The amount of "fuzziness" of the leaves of Costus species is NOT a reliable way to identify a species. Most Costus species will have several forms and be quite variable in the amount and type of hairs on the leaves, and other plant parts. That being said... Costus speciosus is USUALLY densely sericious to puberulus on the undersides of the leaves - in other words fuzzy. Costus arabicus can be glabrous, puberulous or velutinous - either fuzzy or not - on the undersides of the leaves. You can find detailed descriptions of most Costus species at the link below. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Botanical Descriptions of Costus
