Venkostam (Hellenia speciosa)

Venkostam, keu in Hindi, is crepe ginger, a tall herb whose leaves spiral around the stem like a corkscrew and whose white flowers look like crinkled crepe paper. Its rhizome is rich in diosgenin, which India once harvested as a raw material for steroid medicines, including contraceptive pills. It shares the English name costus with the unrelated Himalayan kuth root. Older books call it Costus speciosus.

Botanical name: Hellenia speciosa (J.Koenig) S.R.Dutta
Family: Costaceae
Tamil: Venkostam
Hindi: Keu
Sanskrit: Kemuka
Parts used: Rhizome in lists, Stems
Habit: Spiral-stemmed crepe ginger with white crinkled flowers
Last updated: 2026-10-27

How to recognise Venkostam

It is a tall, leafy perennial, often one to three metres, growing from a fleshy rhizome.

The leaves are arranged in a spiral around the upright stem, which often twists slightly.

The flower head is a red cone of bracts at the top of the stem.

White, crinkled flowers with a yellow centre emerge one or two at a time from the cone.

Ginger has leaves in two flat rows, not a spiral.

Traditional use of Venkostam

Ayurveda

Kemuka rhizome is listed in Ayurvedic texts for fevers and skin complaints.

Ayurvedic texts

Kitchen

In parts of north-east India and South-east Asia the young shoots are cooked as a vegetable.

North-east Indian and South-east Asian food practice

Garden

It is planted as an ornamental in moist, shady gardens.

Garden practice

Modern notes on Venkostam

Diosgenin from the rhizome can be converted into steroid hormones.

In the 1960s and 1970s Indian programmes studied it as a domestic source for the pharmaceutical industry.

Leaf and rhizome extracts have been studied for effects on blood sugar in animals.

Venkostam safety

Do not take the rhizome as medicine without a trained practitioner, and avoid it in pregnancy.

Ecology and sourcing

It grows wild in moist forests from India to South-east Asia.

Bees and birds visit its flowers.

It spreads by rhizomes and can form dense clumps.

Related plants

Questions about Venkostam

Is crepe ginger real ginger?

No. It belongs to a related family.

Is Venkostam the same as kuth?

No. Kuth is Dolomiaea costus.

Why does Venkostam spiral?

Its leaves are arranged in a spiral around the stem.

What is diosgenin?

A compound used to make steroid medicines.

What was the older name of Hellenia speciosa?

Costus speciosus.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.