Overview
Goeppertia guianensis (Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f.) Borchs. & S.Suárez is an accepted species in the family Marantaceae, placed in the genus Goeppertia Nees. Plants of the World Online lists Goeppertia Nees as a genus native to Mexico and Tropical America and records an estimated 260 accepted species within it [1]. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (dataset d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c, species key 9373477) accepts Goeppertia guianensis (Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f.) Borchs. & S.Suárez as the current name, consistent with the treatment in Plants of the World Online [3].
The epithet guianensis is a Latin toponym derived from Guiana, the historical geographic region encompassing parts of present-day Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and northern Brazil. It reflects the area from which the type material was obtained or with which it was associated at the time the original name was coined [1].
As a perennial herbaceous monocot in Marantaceae, Goeppertia guianensis shares the family characters common to the group: asymmetric flowers, a petaloid staminode, and a trigger-pollination mechanism. These characters are attributable to the family as a whole and are not specific to this species [2].
Nomenclature and synonymy
The accepted name carries the full authority string Goeppertia guianensis (Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f.) Borchs. & S.Suárez, which records a two-stage nomenclatural history. The parenthetical portion of the authority, '(Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f.)', identifies Johann Friedrich Klotzsch as the source of the epithet guianensis, which was validly published by George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker f. in a botanical work of the nineteenth century; the specific publication is recorded in the nomenclatural literature under the basionym [1]. The basionym is Calathea guianensis Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f., which thereby becomes a synonym of the accepted name [2].
The combination placing the species in Goeppertia was made by Finn Borchsenius, Santiago Suárez and Lois Prince. It was published in September 2012 in Systematic Botany 37(3): 620–635 as part of a molecular phylogenetic revision of Marantaceae [2]. That revision demonstrated that Calathea G.Mey. as previously circumscribed was polyphyletic, and it published 246 new combinations transferring Calathea species into the older genus Goeppertia Nees; the combination for guianensis was one of those 246 [2].
The registry records two prose-citable names for this species. Goeppertia guianensis (Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f.) Borchs. & S.Suárez is the accepted epithet, confirmed by the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy [3]. Calathea guianensis Klotzsch ex Benth. & Hook.f. is a synonym, as established by the 2012 revision [2].
The accepted botanical name is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants. The combination by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince (2012) is the operative publication under that Code [2].
Description
Plants of the World Online does not return morphological diagnostic characters specific to Goeppertia guianensis in the data recoverable from its taxon entry, and the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy record (key 9373477) likewise does not carry a character description [1][3]. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
Distribution
The epithet guianensis references the Guiana region of northern South America, and reflects the area associated with the type material at the time the original name was coined [1]. Plants of the World Online lists Goeppertia guianensis as an accepted species of Goeppertia Nees, a genus whose native range is recorded by POWO as Mexico to Tropical America [1]. The registry records native_range: null and habitat: null for this species, as species-level range data have not been recovered from the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy entry (key 9373477) or from the POWO genus listing [1][3].
Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
Registration context
No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae. The International Society for Horticultural Science maintains a list of appointed cultivar registration authorities under the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants; Marantaceae does not appear on that list [4]. Because no ICRA exists for the family, there is no central register of accepted cultivar epithets for Goeppertia or for the horticultural trade name Calathea under which many species in this genus continue to circulate in commerce [4][5].
The registry fields icra_authority and dt_is_icra are both null or false for the genus Goeppertia, consistent with the absence of an appointed authority [1]. Digital Towns is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the International Society for Horticultural Science or any appointed cultivar registration authority.
Goeppertia guianensis carries no cultivar records in the registry. The accepted botanical name is governed solely by the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi and Plants, and the operative combination is that published by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince in September 2012 [2].
In cultivation
The registry records in_cultivation: true for Goeppertia guianensis. No primary or authoritative horticultural source documenting this species in cultivation has been located in the research conducted for this page. Botanic garden collection databases, university extension plant toolboxes, and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew publications were not found to carry a dedicated entry for Goeppertia guianensis in the data returned by searches conducted for this brief [1][2].
Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.