Overview
Goeppertia ornata (Linden) Borchs. & S.Suárez is the accepted botanical name for a perennial herb in the family Marantaceae, order Zingiberales. The species is placed in Goeppertia Nees, a genus that, according to Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince writing in Systematic Botany in September 2012, encompasses the great majority of species transferred from Calathea G.Mey. following a molecular phylogenetic demonstration that Calathea as previously circumscribed was polyphyletic [1]. Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) records the species as a perennial growing primarily in the wet tropical biome [3].
The registry records the accepted authority string as (Linden) Borchs. & S.Suárez, confirmed by the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy under key 7977204 [2]. A discrepancy in the parenthetical author is noted in the nomenclature section below.
Two cultivars are recorded in the registry under this species: Goeppertia ornata 'Beauty Star' and Goeppertia ornata 'Sanderiana'. No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae [4].
Nomenclature and Synonymy
The basionym of Goeppertia ornata is Maranta ornata Linden ex Lem., published by Charles Lemaire in Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe 4: t. 413 in 1848, with the name attributed to the Belgian horticulturalist and plant collector Jean Linden as collector and introducer [3]. The current combination, placing the species in Goeppertia Nees, was published by Finn Borchsenius, Luz Stella Suárez and Linda M. Prince at page 633 of their 2012 revision in Systematic Botany 37(3), as one of 246 species transferred from Calathea to Goeppertia in that work [1].
The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records the accepted name as Goeppertia ornata (Linden) Borchs. & S.Suárez under key 7977204 [2]. Plants of the World Online renders the parenthetical authority as (Lem.) rather than (Linden), reflecting a different interpretation of basionym authorship under the 'Linden ex Lem.' construction [3]. The registry carries the value (Linden) Borchs. & S.Suárez, consistent with the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and with the authority string used at page 633 of the 2012 Systematic Botany paper [1]. This discrepancy requires review against the Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince 2012 protologue text and has not been silently resolved here.
Plants of the World Online recognises an extensive synonymy spanning multiple genera and more than 140 years of nomenclatural history since the 1848 protologue [3]. The synonyms include:
- Calathea ornata (Lem.) Körn. — the combination published by Körnicke in 1858 in Gartenflora 7: 87, which remained the widely used name until the 2012 revision [1][3]
- Phrynium ornatum (Lem.) K.Koch (1857)
- Phyllodes ornata (Lem.) Kuntze (1891)
- Phyllodes arrecta (Lindl. & André) Kuntze (1891)
- Calathea arrecta Lindl. & André (1871)
- Maranta albolineata (Körn.) E.J.Lowe & W.Howard (1861)
- Maranta coriifolia Regel (1879)
- Maranta roseolineata (Körn.) B.S.Williams (1870)
The horticultural trade continues to use the synonym Calathea ornata extensively after the 2012 reclassification. As documented by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince, Calathea ornata ceased to be an accepted name following publication of the 2012 revision [1].
Description
Plants of the World Online characterises Goeppertia ornata as a perennial herb placed in the wet tropical biome [3]. IUCN Habitats Classification data recorded by Plants of the World Online associates the species with forest and woodland, shrubland, and artificial-terrestrial habitats [3]. The same source records that the species has documented environmental uses and is also recorded as a medicinal plant, in addition to its ornamental status [3].
No formal morphological description sourced from a peer-reviewed taxonomic monograph or primary botanical publication was retrievable within the sources cleared for this article. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed on the diagnostic morphological characters of this species as stated in primary taxonomic literature.
Distribution and Habitat
Plants of the World Online records the native range of Goeppertia ornata as south-eastern Colombia to south-western Venezuela [3]. Occurrence data in that source assigns the species to the Colombian department of Meta and to the Orinoquia biogeographic region; the sole elevation figure recorded is 595 m above sea level [3]. The species is characterised as a perennial of the wet tropical biome, associated with forest and woodland and shrubland habitats according to the IUCN Habitats Classification as applied by Plants of the World Online [3].
No IUCN Red List assessment, conservation status, or population estimate for Goeppertia ornata was located in any primary source consulted during research for this article. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed on conservation status.
In Cultivation
Goeppertia ornata has been in horticultural cultivation since Jean Linden introduced the plant to Europe in or before 1848, when Lemaire published its first formal description from cultivated material in Flore des Serres et des Jardins de l'Europe [3]. Plants of the World Online records the species as having environmental uses and as a medicinal plant, in addition to its ornamental status in horticulture [3].
The horticultural trade has used the synonym Calathea ornata extensively and continues to do so following the 2012 reclassification. As documented by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince in 2012, the combination Calathea ornata ceased to be the accepted name on publication of their revision [1].
Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed on the cultivation history and cultivar documentation for this species.
Cultivars Recorded in the Registry
Two cultivar epithets are recorded in the Digital Towns plant registry under Goeppertia ornata: 'Beauty Star' and 'Sanderiana'. Cultivar epithets are enclosed in single quotation marks and are not italicised, in conformity with the requirements of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP).
No originator is documented for either cultivar — both predate any registration authority for Marantaceae. No plant patent has been located for either epithet. No parentage data appears in any primary record identified during research for this article.
No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae [4]. The ICRA system is administered by the Commission Cultivar Registration of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), which appoints registration authorities and reassesses appointments on a four-year cycle [4]. By contrast, the International Aroid Society is the appointed ICRA for Araceae, with the exception of Calla L. and Zantedeschia Spreng. [5]. Marantaceae has no equivalent appointed body. Digital Towns is an applicant and an aggregator; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operating under ISHS or any appointed ICRA.