Yes, that is very common in that species. Other Costus species tend not to branch, but this one does it all the time.

Actually C. speciosus turns out to be very closely related to Tapenochilus (more so than to other Costus species), and one of the more notable things that generally separates the two genera is that Costus usually doesn't branch while Tapenochilus does. So this species is almost an evolutionary link between the two genera. Ok, more info than most of you wanted to know, but I'm a taxonomist so I tend to do that!

-Kyle

True of Tapeinochilos, but it is not just C. speciosus, or even the other Asian Costus species that branch. I have had some branching of several other species (C. curvibracteatus/productus, C. osae, C. scaber, C. talbottii), and the neo-tropical Costus arabicus is well known for it's branching habit.

Hello from Northern Thailand

My tapeinochilos ananassae get flower and few week after green shoot or leaves came out directly rom the flower
(I saw that very often with common red ginger (alpinia))
Cani cut the stem and plant it again ?
if the answer is "yes" or "possible" advices will be appreciated

I did this successfully with red ginger

Lukmee

May is the new nice season with very nice temperature - rain is coming again - and fruits specialy Litchees !!!

Yes, you can grow new plants from stem cuttings, whether or not it had a flower. Don't cut the new shoots off if they're still soft, though, you need a hard stem. You can cut the whole stem into sections, and everywhere there is a "node", the swollen part where the side branches come off the main stem, bury that part in some potting soil and keep it lightly moist-- that's where the roots will come out.

I have to say , when my original Costus barbatus began to produce growth from the leaf axils, I at first though those might be the beginnings of branches , but as they developed further, it was very evident to me that they were a form of "pups" or offsets! The clincher of course, was when they dropped off very easily with only a slight nudge and they did form a bulbous growth at their base right next the the leaf axils on the main stems. Are there many others that do this "pup" propagation as well, and I wonder why mine no longer has done that with any of the new plants from various root divisions over the years? Perhaps the plant needs some degree of stress (excess dryness perhaps) to encourage that pup formation. Just seemed sort of "neet" to me to have so many easily available offsets or pups , which rooted very quickly to start new plants.

Many species of Costus and its relatives Dimerocostus and Tapeinochilus will do this, also some of the true gingers: Alpinia purpurata and Hedychium greenei come most readily to mind, but I've occasionally seen it on others. With some species it seems to happen every time, just as a matter of course as the inflorescence ages. With others there may be a stress factor involved-- I hadn't really thought about this, but a lot of gingers/costus have the capacity to root from stem cuttings, and if cutting the stem off isn't stressful I don't know what is!

Cuttings themselves work on other genera, but there are those oddballs out there like the ones mentioned above, h. greenii, alpinia purpurata, etc. Several Globba will make plantlets, or will have their bulbils sprout while still attached to the plant. There is a new genus (yet to be published) that makes plantlets too, among other really interesting traits. cool inflorescence too.

it would be great and so easy if everything made plantlets, no digging, dividing, setting and sewing seed etc.

Tim Chapman