Costus comosus, or spiral ginger (though not an actual ginger, confusingly and one reason why binomial names are useful), is one of those plants that I have only ever seen at large gardens. I was rather taken with the flowers when I saw them-bright red and yellow, a rather good combination in the bright summer sun. This species is native to Costa Rica. I couldn’t find a huge amount on this species, but I’ll share the little that I did learn, starting with the meaning of the binomial name, Costus comosus:

• Costus-the only reference that I can find for this name comes from the Greek word ‘kostos’ which is an oriental plant that’s aromatic.
• Comosus-means ‘with tufts’, referring to the flowers

This spiral ginger is a perennial herb that grows from rhizomes. Its cane-like stems reach between 1-1.5 metres tall and can be erect or arching. The leaves are spirally arranged around the stems.

The inflorescence looks a little like a pine cone, appearing at the end of the stem. This can also be near the ground, as well as the top of the ground. Each inflorescence contains a number of bracts which are also arranged spirally around the stem. The flowers themselves are bright yellow, appearing from the bract axils (the point where the bract meets the stem). Up to four individual flowers can appear on each inflorescence at any one time.

https://ntbg.org/database/plants/detail/costus-comosus