Overview
Goeppertia sciuroides (Petersen) Borchs. & S.Suárez is a species in the family Marantaceae, placed within the genus Goeppertia Nees. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records it as an accepted species under key 7832703 [1]. It belongs to a genus that Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince circumscribed in 2012 to encompass the majority of species previously assigned to Calathea G.Mey., after demonstrating that Calathea as previously delimited was polyphyletic; that revision published 246 new combinations transferring species from Calathea to Goeppertia [2].
A nomenclatural conflict between two authoritative backbone sources affects this species page. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (key 7832703) treats Goeppertia sciuroides as the accepted name and lists Calathea polytricha as a synonym [1]. Plants of the World Online (POWO), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, takes the opposite position: it treats Goeppertia polytricha (Baker) Saka as the accepted name and places Goeppertia sciuroides (Petersen) Borchs. & S.Suárez in synonymy under it, citing the Govaerts et al. (2021) World Checklist of Vascular Plants as the underlying authority [3]. This registry page documents both treatments and flags the conflict; resolution requires consultation of the primary nomenclatural record to determine which combination has priority. The registry row follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and records Goeppertia sciuroides as the accepted name.
Nomenclature and synonymy
The combination Goeppertia sciuroides (Petersen) Borchs. & S.Suárez was published by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince in 2012 in Systematic Botany 37(3): 620–635, as one of 246 new combinations transferring species from Calathea G.Mey. to Goeppertia Nees [2]. The specific epithet sciuroides originates from a name published by Petersen; Petersen is therefore cited as the basionym author in parentheses in the combination. The precise protologue citation for Petersen's original name, including the journal title and year of publication, has not been retrieved from a primary source in the course of this research. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records the following name in the synonymy of this species: Calathea polytricha [1]. Under the GBIF treatment, Calathea polytricha is a pre-2012 name that resolves to Goeppertia sciuroides following the Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince revision [2]. The horticultural trade has continued to circulate the name Calathea polytricha for this taxon.
Plants of the World Online assigns IPNI LSID 77149294-1 to the combination it treats as accepted, namely Goeppertia polytricha (Baker) Saka, and records Goeppertia sciuroides (Petersen) Borchs. & S.Suárez as a synonym under it [3]. The two backbone sources therefore currently disagree on which combination holds accepted status. Neither source is reproduced here as definitively correct; the conflict is stated as documented and is flagged for human review against the primary nomenclatural record.
No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae. The International Society for Horticultural Science maintains a list of appointed ICRAs by family; Marantaceae does not appear on it [2]. Because no ICRA exists for the family, no centralised cultivar register governs nomenclature for Goeppertia. Digital Towns is an applicant and aggregator and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operating under any cultivar registration authority or the International Society for Horticultural Science.
Description
The diagnostic morphological characters of Goeppertia sciuroides as recorded in the primary taxonomic literature have not been independently retrieved from a prose-citable source in the course of this research. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
Distribution and habitat
Plants of the World Online records the native range of the taxon it treats as Goeppertia polytricha (Baker) Saka, under which Goeppertia sciuroides is placed as a synonym, as extending from Trinidad to northern Brazil, occurring as a perennial in the wet tropical biome [3]. Because the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and POWO currently disagree on the accepted name, this distributional statement must be read as applying to the broader taxon concept rather than as confirmed specifically under the sciuroides combination. The registry species row does not populate native range or habitat fields for this species, and no independent range statement for Goeppertia sciuroides specifically under that combination has been located from a source other than POWO [1].
No conservation status assessment for Goeppertia sciuroides under that name has been located from an authoritative source in the course of this research. No plant patent covers this taxon. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
In cultivation
The registry records in_cultivation as true for Goeppertia sciuroides. No independent primary source, such as a botanical garden publication, university extension document, or peer-reviewed cultivation account, documenting this species specifically in cultivation has been retrieved in the course of this research. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
The name Calathea polytricha, which the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records as a synonym of this species [1] and which the trade continues to use for this taxon, is documented in botanical literature in connection with the Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince (2012) revision [2], but no authoritative cultivation description under that name has been located from a source meeting the prose-citation standard applied throughout this registry. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
No registered cultivars are documented for this species in the registry. The cultivars array for this species is empty.