Costus barbatus

In 2011, this assessor made a concerted effort to locate this species in its natural habitat in the eastern suburbs of San Jose, Costa Rica. Using Google Earth, remaining patches of forest at the appropriate altitudes were identified, then visited. All forest patches within the known altitude range of this species were found to be reclaimed coffee fields and no species of Costaceae whatsoever were found in these areas. As noted in the distribution section, this assessor found one very small subpopulation (one clump) of this species in a small creek bed about 5 km east of the known collections and at a higher altitude (1,780 metres) than this species was previously known to exist. This was a large clump with plants at varying levels of maturity from non-flowering plants, to young inflorescences, and including mature inflorescences which normally would contain seeds. No seeds or seedlings were found whatsoever, so it is believed that either the pollinator is extinct or not found at that elevation, or the plant does not maintain sufficient numbers to recruit a pollinator.

Prior to this, the most recent creditable collection record was in 1994 at Parque Nacional Tapanti. This assessor visited the area and the same trail noted in the collection record in 2006 and Costus barbatus was not found there. The other two collection records there were in 1978 and 1974. 

The next prior collection was in 1984, in an area very close to the 2011 observation, to the east of San Jose.

The third area (southwest of San Jose) had one collection record in 1994, and has not been verified by this assessor.

It is difficult to estimate the number of plants still in existence in the wild, but based on the recorded collection data and the many areas searched by this assessor, the number must be very low. Current population size is estimated at  under 50 mature plants.