Goeppertia paucifolia

Goeppertia paucifolia (H.Kenn.) Borchs. & S.Suárez is an accepted species in the family Marantaceae, recorded under GBIF key 9308050 in the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy [1]. It is a monocotyledonous perennial herb, and the genus Goeppertia Nees to which it belongs is the largest in Marantaceae, encompassing an estimated 260 accepted species [3]. The species is currently recorded as present in cultivation, though no specific botanic-garden or institutional cultivation records have been located in approved source categories [1].

The epithet paucifolia derives from the Latin for 'few-leaved' and was applied by Helen Kennedy in her 1988 protologue. The basionym Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn. remains in circulation as a horticultural name, but it carries no standing as an accepted name under current taxonomy [4]. Plants of the World Online, maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, records Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn. as a synonym resolved to Goeppertia paucifolia [4].

The accepted name Goeppertia paucifolia (H.Kenn.) Borchs. & S.Suárez rests on a basionym published by Helen Kennedy in 1988: Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn., described in Flora of Ecuador 32(224): 86 [2]. The International Plant Names Index records this basionym under identifier 273669-2, with Kennedy's authorship and the 1988 publication details confirmed [2]. The holotype (H. Lugo S. 1605) is deposited at the Gothenburg Herbarium (GB) and was collected from Pastaza Province, Ecuador [2].

The transfer from Calathea G.Mey. to Goeppertia Nees was effected by Finn Borchsenius, Sonia Suárez and Lena Prince in 2012, in their molecular phylogenetic revision of Marantaceae published in Systematic Botany 37(3): 633 [3]. That paper demonstrated that Calathea as previously circumscribed was polyphyletic and published 246 new combinations moving species into Goeppertia; the combination for this species appears on page 633 of that work [3]. Plants of the World Online records Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn. as a synonym of Goeppertia paucifolia, citing the 2012 Borchsenius et al. revision as the basis for that synonymy [4].

The name Calathea paucifolia remains in horticultural circulation but has no standing as an accepted name under current taxonomy as recorded in the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and Plants of the World Online [1] [4].

The protologue in Flora of Ecuador 32(224): 86, published in 1988 by Helen Kennedy, constitutes the primary diagnostic record for this species [2]. The epithet paucifolia (Latin: 'few-leaved') reflects a diagnostic character noted by Kennedy in the original description [2]. A herbarium specimen held at the QCA herbarium (QCA 135632) has been annotated as Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn. and verified by S. Suárez in 2007, providing a secondary determination consistent with the protologue [5].

No subsequent monographic revision has altered the circumscription of this species, and Plants of the World Online places Goeppertia paucifolia within the accepted genus circumscription as delimited by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince (2012) [4]. Diagnostic morphological characters beyond those inferable from the type collection and the Latin epithet are not reproduced in any source accessible from approved source categories beyond the original protologue. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

The holotype of the basionym Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn. was collected in Pastaza Province, Ecuador, and is deposited at the Gothenburg Herbarium (GB) [2]. The International Plant Names Index records the type locality as Pastaza, within Ecuador, Western South America [2]. A herbarium specimen at the QCA herbarium (QCA 135632) annotated as this species and verified by S. Suárez in 2007 likewise documents an Ecuadorian occurrence consistent with the type-collection locality [5].

Plants of the World Online, drawing on the World Checklist of Vascular Plants maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, does not provide a native-range summary for Goeppertia paucifolia beyond what is inferable from type-collection data [4]. The registry fact pack carries no populated native range or habitat field for this species. No IUCN Red List assessment has been located in approved source categories for Goeppertia paucifolia specifically. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

The registry records Goeppertia paucifolia as present in cultivation. The name Calathea paucifolia H.Kenn. continues to be used in horticultural contexts, as noted in the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy synonymy record, indicating that the species circulates in the trade under its former name [1]. Goeppertia as a genus encompasses an estimated 260 species, the majority transferred from Calathea G.Mey. by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince in 2012; species distributed across Ecuador and adjacent Amazonian territories are represented in this broader cultivated group [3].

No botanic-garden cultivation records, university extension publications, or primary horticultural-science literature specifically documenting Goeppertia paucifolia in cultivation have been located within approved source categories. The registry carries no cultivar records for this species, and no plant patent has been identified for any selection derived from it. No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae, so no governing body exists to register or verify cultivar names for this species or for the genus Goeppertia more broadly [3]. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae. The genus Goeppertia Nees, along with the rest of the family Marantaceae, therefore has no governing body responsible for registering cultivar names, verifying priority, or maintaining an official cultivar checklist under the framework of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. The International Society for Horticultural Science lists appointed registration authorities by genus on its cultivar-registration pages, and no appointment for Marantaceae appears there [6] [7].

The registry genus record for Goeppertia carries a null value for the ICRA authority field, consistent with this documented gap. Digital Towns does not claim registration-authority status for this genus or family; the registry fact pack records dt_is_icra as false. As of 2026-08-14, no appointment of a registration authority for Marantaceae has been located in any approved source category.