Goeppertia roseopicta 'Silvia'

Goeppertia roseopicta 'Silvia' is a cultivar of Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez, a perennial species in the family Marantaceae. Plants of the World Online, maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, records the native range of the parent species as western South America to western Brazil, growing primarily in the wet tropical biome [1]. The Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder documents the species as clump-forming with ornamentally patterned leaves [3].

The cultivar 'Silvia' arose as a random somatic mutation of the parent species, as stated in U.S. Plant Patent PP9693, which constitutes the primary public record for this cultivar [2]. The patent describes propagation by tissue culture as the method used to fix and increase the plant population for evaluation [2].

Registered epithet. The cultivar epithet is 'Silvia'. No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae, as confirmed by the International Society for Horticultural Science list of appointed registration authorities [5]. The epithet 'Silvia' is documented through U.S. Plant Patent PP9693, which constitutes a primary public record of the name in use [2]. Digital Towns is an applicant and an aggregator; it is not an appointed registration authority and is not affiliated with or accredited by the International Society for Horticultural Science or any appointed authority.

Patent denomination. U.S. Plant Patent PP9693 denominates the cultivar as 'Silvia', applied at the time of filing to the then-current botanical name Calathea roseopicta [2]. The patent does not mention any trade designation; no trade designation for this cultivar is established by the patent record, and no other authoritative source has been located that establishes one.

Nomenclatural note. The basionym Maranta roseopicta Linden ex Lem. was published in Annales d'Horticulture Belge et Etrangère in 1866 [1]. In 2012, Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince published 246 new combinations following a molecular phylogenetic revision demonstrating that Calathea as previously circumscribed was polyphyletic, transferring the species to Goeppertia as Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez [1]. Plants of the World Online records Calathea roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Regel as a synonym of the accepted name [1]. Under the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, the cultivar epithet travels with the species; the accepted full name for this cultivar is therefore Goeppertia roseopicta 'Silvia'.

U.S. Plant Patent PP9693 names Magdalena J. M. van Rijn as the inventor and Van Rijn Plants as the assignee [2]. The registry originator field currently holds a null value; the primary patent record identifies the inventor as Magdalena J. M. van Rijn, and this discrepancy is noted for human review pending full primary-record verification [2].

The patent states that 'Silvia' arose as a random mutation discovered and selected from a group of Calathea roseopicta in April 1989 at Schipluiden, the Netherlands [2]. The registry origin_place and origin_date fields currently hold null values; the primary patent record states Schipluiden, the Netherlands, and April 1989 respectively, and these discrepancies are noted for human review [2]. Because 'Silvia' arose as a somatic mutation rather than a sexual cross, no seed parent or pollen parent applies [2]. The patent record is the sole primary source for originator, place and date that has been located.

U.S. Plant Patent PP9693, titled 'Calathea plant named Silvia', was granted on 12 November 1996 to inventor Magdalena J. M. van Rijn, with Van Rijn Plants as assignee [2]. The registry patent_number field currently holds a null value; the primary patent record confirms the number as PP9693, and this discrepancy is noted for human review [2].

A U.S. plant patent confers the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant and from using, offering for sale, or selling the plant so reproduced, for the statutory term of 20 years from the date of application. Given a grant date of 12 November 1996, any application filed prior to that date would have resulted in expiry no later than the mid-2010s. No current patent protection for 'Silvia' has been confirmed; the registry patent_status field is recorded pending resolution against the full primary record [2].

The primary source for this cultivar is U.S. Plant Patent PP9693, which establishes the cultivar denomination, the inventor, the assignee, the discovery as a somatic mutation of Calathea roseopicta, the discovery date of April 1989, and the discovery location of Schipluiden, the Netherlands [2]. The taxonomic framework for the parent species is documented in Plants of the World Online [1]. Cultivation of the parent species at the species level is documented by the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder [3] and the North Carolina State University Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox [4]; neither source addresses the cultivar 'Silvia' specifically.

No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae, as confirmed by the International Society for Horticultural Science [5]. No peer-reviewed literature, herbarium publication, or university extension document addressing 'Silvia' specifically beyond the patent record has been located. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.