NguyenMoc
Botanical Encyclopedia
Home/Plant species/Saussurea costus
Saussurea costus
Asteraceae familyNE · Not Evaluated

Saussurea costus

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch.

Dolomiaea costus, formerly known as Saussurea costus, commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus Dolomiaea native to South Asia and China.

No ratings yet — be the first!

0
Views
3
Languages
Oct 15, 2026
Updated
v1.0
Version
LanguagesVIENZH

Gallery

Saussurea costus rootsSaussurea costus roots
Saussurea costusSaussurea costus
Saussurea costusSaussurea costus
Saussurea costusSaussurea costus
Saussurea costusSaussurea costus
Saussurea costus flowerSaussurea costus flower
Saussurea costus flowerSaussurea costus flower
Saussurea costus rootsSaussurea costus roots
Saussurea costusSaussurea costus
1 / 7

Overview

Dolomiaea costus, formerly known as Saussurea costus, commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus Dolomiaea native to South Asia and China. Rishi (Hindu) mystics of Kashmir especially ate this plant. Essential oils extracted from the root have been used in traditional medicine and in perfumes since ancient times.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/15/2026

Costus is the root of this plant. The root of the plant is the key part used for medicinal or homeopathic purposes. The root is also called by its Latin name radix aucklandiae (root of Aucklandia).

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/15/2026

It has a large number of names in other languages, including kuṣṭha in Sanskrit; kust or qust in Arabic and Persian; kut, kur, and pachak in Hindi and Bengali, kostum, gostham, and potchuk in Tamil; upaleta and kur in Gujarati; kot or kust in Punjabi; changala in Telugu; sepuddy in Malayalam; kostha in Kannada; kuth or postkhai in Kashmiri; and kosht (קשט) in Hebrew; koto in Swahili; mu xiang in Chinese.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/15/2026

Uses

  • Essential oils extracted from the root have been used in traditional medicine and in perfumes since ancient times.
  • The root of the plant is the key part used for medicinal or homeopathic purposes.

Habitat & conservation

Dolomiaea costus, formerly known as Saussurea costus, commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus Dolomiaea native to South Asia and China.

Conservation

Saussurea costus has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List (NE). As a medicinal plant, it benefits from sustainable collection and propagation to protect wild genetic resources.

References

  1. 1Wikipedia – Saussurea costus — Wikipedia,
  2. 2Kew POWO – Saussurea costus — Plants of the World Online (Kew),
  3. 3Wikidata – Q1661525 — Wikidata,
NguyenMoc

Help build an open knowledge base

Are you a researcher, artisan or nature lover? Contribute, add or correct content so NguyenMoc keeps getting more accurate.