Red Button Ginger
Costus woodsonii
Also known as: Indian Head Ginger, Scarlet Spiral Flag, Red Spiral Flag, Costus woodsonii
Tropical American spiral ginger with year-round red conical bracts and small yellow tubular flowers. Salt-tolerant, pollinator-friendly, and reliably colorful in coastal gardens, tropical borders, and resort landscapes. 1 to 1.5 ft plants at ₱75 each.
Pricing Guide (per clump)
| Size / Spec | Price (PHP) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 1.5 ft | ₱75 |
Volume Discounts
- 50–200 plants:5%
- 201–500 plants:8-10%
- 501+ plants:Project-specific pricing
Prices reflect plant only. Delivery and installation quoted per project. Bulk discounts apply on mass plantings for resort, tropical garden, and pool-bed installations. Plants ship in nursery pots.
Request Project Quote →About Red Button Ginger
Red Button Ginger (Costus woodsonii) is a clump-forming spiral ginger native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.[^1] The plant is grown for its persistent terminal cones of bright red overlapping bracts that bloom year-round, with small yellow tubular flowers emerging from between the bracts. Unlike most Costaceae, the species tolerates sandy coastal soils,[^2] making it one of the few ornamental gingers reliable in beachfront and resort landscape applications. In Philippine landscape projects it is specified for tropical garden borders, mass plantings, container accents, and pollinator gardens.
Common Applications
- Tropical garden borders and mass plantings. Planted in groups or low informal hedges along walkways, pool decks, and beds where year-round red bract color is wanted.
- Coastal and beachfront landscapes. Sand and salt tolerance from native coastal habitat make it one of the few gingers viable in beachfront resort contexts.
- Container and patio accents. Pot-grown for balconies, lanai, and patio corners where the persistent bracts provide constant visual interest.
- Pollinator and biodiversity gardens. Tubular yellow flowers attract sunbirds (the Philippine nectar-feeder analogue to hummingbirds in the native range); extrafloral nectar in the bracts recruits ants that deter herbivorous insects.
- Pool-deck tropical accents. Holds tropical-resort visual character without the leaf-litter and fruit-drop issues of some flowering plants.
Where You'll See It
- Resort gardens in Boracay, Bohol, Palawan, and El Nido
- Beachfront residential landscapes across the Visayas
- Tropical garden borders in CALABARZON private gardens
- Hotel and condominium podium-deck container plantings
- Pool-bed accent plantings in luxury residential projects
Why Architects Choose It
- Year-round red bracts hold color without relying on seasonal bloom flushes
- Salt and sand tolerance — one of few ornamental gingers viable in coastal contexts
- Pollinator-friendly with extrafloral nectar, supporting biodiversity briefs
- Pool-safe and clean — minimal litter, no aggressive root system at landscape scale
- Low maintenance once established; no specialized horticultural attention required
Project Types Best Suited
- Resort and beachfront landscapes
- Tropical residential gardens
- Pool-bed and water-feature accent plantings
- Hotel and condominium amenity-deck containers
- Pollinator and biodiversity garden installations
Specifications
- Botanical name
- Costus woodsonii Maas
- Family
- Costaceae (segregated from Zingiberaceae)
- Order
- Zingiberales
- Genus
- Costus
- Native range
- Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama
- Status in PH
- Introduced, cultivated as ornamental
- Habit
- Rhizomatous geophytic clump-forming herbaceous perennial
- Sourced size
- 1 to 1.5 ft
- Mature height
- 1-2 m typical
- Stems
- Spirally arranged leaves up the stem (the 'spiral ginger' character of Costaceae)
- Leaves
- Glossy, broad oval to elliptical, spirally arranged around the cane
- Inflorescence
- Terminal ovoid-conical head of bright red persistent overlapping bracts (the 'button' or pinecone form)
- Flowers
- Small yellow tubular flowers emerging from between bracts; bracts also produce extrafloral nectar
- Bloom season
- Year-round flowering
- Sun
- Partial shade to full sun in tropical conditions
- Water
- Moderate to high; consistent moisture preferred
- Soil
- Tolerates sandy coastal soils; well-drained tropical soils preferred
- Salt tolerance
- Good — unusual for Costaceae
- Pool safe
- Yes (clean foliage, no significant litter)
- Pet safety
- Not listed on ASPCA toxic plant database; absence of listing does not constitute a positive non-toxic ruling
Red Button Ginger (Costus woodsonii) Supplier
Red Button Ginger, Costus woodsonii, is a clump-forming spiral ginger native to Central America that has become one of the most reliable flowering accents in tropical landscape design. The species is grown for its persistent terminal cones of bright red overlapping bracts and the small yellow tubular flowers that emerge between them, with the entire structure holding color year-round.1
Identity and Trade Names
In international horticulture the plant goes by Red Button Ginger, Indian Head Ginger, and Scarlet Spiral Flag.1 In Philippine nursery trade the dominant name is Red Button Ginger or simply Costus. There is no widely documented Filipino vernacular name; the plant is an introduced ornamental rather than a culturally rooted species.
Native Range
Per Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), Costus woodsonii is native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, with introduced populations in Bangladesh.2 The species was formally described by Maas in 1972 and is in the family Costaceae, which was segregated from the broader Zingiberaceae as modern taxonomy resolved the spiral gingers as a distinct lineage.2
Form, Bracts, and Flowers
The plant grows as a rhizomatous clump-forming herbaceous perennial.2 Stems carry glossy broad leaves arranged spirally around the cane — the characteristic “spiral ginger” growth pattern of Costaceae. Mature plants reach approximately 1-2 m in cultivation.
The signature feature is the inflorescence: a terminal ovoid-conical head of bright red overlapping bracts that resemble a button or small pinecone. Small yellow tubular flowers emerge from between the bracts. The bracts are persistent — they hold color even between flower emergence cycles — and the species flowers year-round rather than in seasonal flushes.1
A notable detail: the bracts produce extrafloral nectar that recruits ants. The recruited ants deter herbivorous insect oviposition, making the plant a small example of mutualistic ant defense in landscape horticulture.1
Coastal Tolerance
Most Costaceae prefer wet tropical understory conditions and do not tolerate sandy coastal soils. Costus woodsonii is an unusual exception: published references confirm tolerance for sandy substrates, making it one of the few ornamental gingers viable in beachfront resort and near-shore residential landscapes.1
This combination — year-round bract color and salt/sand tolerance — is the reason the species is “more widely cultivated than other species of Costus.”1
Pollinator Notes for PH Context
In its native Central American range, Costus woodsonii is hummingbird-pollinated. Hummingbirds do not occur in the Philippines, but sunbirds (Nectariniidae) are the local nectar-feeding bird family and serve a comparable ecological role on the equivalent flowering structures. The plant’s tubular yellow flowers are well-suited to sunbird visitation, supporting biodiversity briefs that prioritize bird-friendly plantings.
The extrafloral nectar in the bracts also supports ant communities, which contributes to the plant’s natural pest deterrence.
Landscape Use in the Philippines
Common deployments:
- Tropical garden borders and mass plantings at 45-60 cm centers
- Coastal and beachfront landscapes capitalizing on sand and salt tolerance
- Pool-deck and water-feature accent plantings for tropical visual character
- Container and lanai plantings in resort and condominium amenity decks
- Pollinator and biodiversity garden installations with bird-friendly plantings
Why Specify Red Button Ginger
Year-round color. Persistent red bracts hold their visual character continuously rather than relying on flower flushes — rare among tropical perennials.
Coastal viability. One of the few ornamental gingers that performs at beachfront sites.
Pollinator-friendly. Sunbird-attracting flowers and ant-recruiting bracts support biodiversity-led design briefs.
Low maintenance. No specialized horticultural care; thrives with consistent moisture, partial sun, and standard tropical garden practice.
Visual character distinct from common flowering tropicals. The pinecone-like bract structure reads differently from heliconia, ginger, or strelitzia in mixed plantings.
Care Highlights
- Sun: partial shade to full sun
- Water: moderate to high; consistent moisture preferred
- Soil: well-drained, tolerates sandy coastal substrates
- Cold: tropical, cold-tender; not an issue in Philippine lowland climate
- Pests: generally low; ant-mediated defense from extrafloral nectar handles much of the herbivore pressure naturally
Sources
Footnotes
-
Wikipedia contributors. “Costus woodsonii.” Wikipedia. Accessed 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costus_woodsonii ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
-
Plants of the World Online (POWO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Costus woodsonii Maas.” Accessed 2026. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:66932-2 ↩ ↩2 ↩3
Sourcing & Supply
Origin
Sourced from Luzon nurseries that maintain Costus woodsonii stock for the resort and tropical garden trade. Plants are propagated by rhizome division and grown out in shaded conditions before sale.
Supplier Relationship
Working relationships with multiple nurseries supplying Red Button Ginger at this size tier. Bulk resort and tropical garden orders are coordinated across yards when single-source inventory is short.
Quality Control
Plants delivered with full glossy foliage, healthy red bracts on flowering canes, no leaf yellowing, and intact rhizome systems. Stock is screened for ant infestation prior to indoor or container use.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Red Button Ginger cost in the Philippines?
Potted plants at 1 to 1.5 ft retail at ₱75 per plant. Volume discounts apply on bulk orders starting at 50 plants for tropical garden borders, resort plantings, and mass installations.
Why is it called Red Button Ginger?
The terminal inflorescence is a tight ovoid head of bright red overlapping bracts that resembles a button or small pinecone. Small yellow tubular flowers emerge from between the bracts but the dominant visual element is the persistent red bract structure.
Is Red Button Ginger really a ginger?
It is in the order Zingiberales (the ginger order) but in the family Costaceae, which was segregated from Zingiberaceae in modern taxonomy. Costaceae plants are called 'spiral gingers' for the characteristic spiral arrangement of leaves around the stems, distinct from the two-row arrangement of true Zingiberaceae gingers.
Will it tolerate beachfront placement?
Yes. Per published references, Costus woodsonii is unusual among Costaceae in tolerating sandy coastal soils. It performs reliably in beachfront resort, near-shore residential, and pool-deck contexts where most ornamental gingers struggle.
Does Red Button Ginger bloom year-round?
Yes. The species flowers continuously rather than in seasonal flushes, with the persistent red bracts holding color even between flower emergence cycles. This makes it one of the more reliable color choices for tropical garden borders that need year-round visual interest.
Does it attract pollinators?
Yes. The tubular yellow flowers attract nectar-feeding birds (sunbirds in PH context, the local analogue to the hummingbirds that pollinate the species in its native range). The bracts produce extrafloral nectar that recruits ants, which deter herbivorous insect oviposition. Strong choice for pollinator and biodiversity gardens.
Is Red Button Ginger safe for pets?
The species is not listed on the ASPCA toxic plant database, but absence of listing is not the same as a positive non-toxic ruling. Costus species are consumed by some wildlife in their native range (Wikipedia notes capuchin monkey consumption), but veterinary toxicity data for cats and dogs is limited. Treat as a low-risk ornamental rather than confirmed pet-safe.
How tall does it get?
Mature height typically reaches 1-2 m in good conditions. The plant clumps over time through rhizome spread; control the spread by edging the bed or by container planting if a defined footprint is needed.
