Abstract
Eighteen genotypes of Costus speciosus originally collected from different geographical regions of India have been assessed for their somatic chromosome number, plastid number in the stomatal guard cells and diosgenin content of the rhizomes. Chromosome counts show that two are diploids, four triploids and the remaining twelve are tetraploids with 2n=18, 27 and 36 chromosomes, respectively. Clear differences between diploids, triploids and tetraploids for chloroplast number in the stomatal gurad cells suggest that plastid counts can be used as a parameter for identification of intra-specific chromosomal races. A limited variation for diosgenin content of the rhizomes which ranges from 1.232% to 1.670% is attributed to the genetic differences in these genotypes. No correlation is established between ploidy status and diosgenin content of the rhizomes.
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