Overview
Goeppertia standleyi (J.F.Macbr.) Borchs. & S.Suárez is an accepted species of Marantaceae, the family of prayer plants, within the order Zingiberales. It belongs to Goeppertia Nees, which Plants of the World Online lists as comprising approximately 260 accepted species with a native range spanning Mexico to tropical America [4]. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records this species under key 7582733 with the accepted authority (J.F.Macbr.) Borchs. & S.Suárez [1].
The genus Goeppertia was redefined in 2012 by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince, who demonstrated through molecular phylogenetic analysis that Calathea as previously circumscribed was polyphyletic, and published 246 new combinations transferring the majority of its species to Goeppertia [3]. Goeppertia standleyi is one of the species established through that revision. In trade and horticulture, the species continues to appear under the name Calathea standleyi, a name that, as of the 2012 revision, is a synonym and carries no accepted taxonomic standing [3].
The registry records this species as in cultivation. No named cultivar selections have been formally documented in the Digital Towns registry to date, and no cultivar rows exist for this species.
Nomenclature and Synonymy
Goeppertia standleyi (J.F.Macbr.) Borchs. & S.Suárez is the accepted name as confirmed by both the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (dataset d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c, species key 7582733) and Plants of the World Online [1][4]. The basionym is Calathea standleyi J.F.Macbr., authored by James Francis Macbride, an American botanist who published extensively on the flora of Peru through the Field Museum of Natural History [2]. Macbride published his Marantaceae treatments in the series Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series; parallel J.F.Macbr. Marantaceae names in that series are dated to volume 11 (1931) and volume 13 (1936) [2]. The specific volume and page for Calathea standleyi were not retrievable from a prose-citable primary record during this research session.
Limited authoritative sources available for the precise original publication details of the basionym; further research needed.
The combination transferring Calathea standleyi to Goeppertia was published by Finn Borchsenius, Santiago Suárez and Layne Prince on 1 September 2012 in Systematic Botany 37(3): 620–635 [3]. That paper established the redefined generic limits of Calathea and Goeppertia and published 246 new combinations in total [3].
The specific epithet standleyi commemorates Paul Carpenter Standley (1884–1963), an American botanist who worked on neotropical plants at the Field Museum of Natural History, the same institution through which Macbride published [2].
The registry recognises two names for this entity: Goeppertia standleyi (J.F.Macbr.) Borchs. & S.Suárez as the accepted epithet, and Calathea standleyi J.F.Macbr. as a synonym, both sourced from the Borchsenius et al. 2012 paper and the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy [1][3].
Description
No diagnostic morphological description of Goeppertia standleyi specifically has been located in a prose-citable authoritative source accessible at the time of this brief. The protologue of Calathea standleyi J.F.Macbr. in the Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series is the primary source of the original description; that primary record was not directly accessible during this research session [2].
Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.
Distribution
The registry record for Goeppertia standleyi carries no native range or habitat data. Plants of the World Online records Goeppertia as a genus native to Mexico and tropical America [4], but the species-level distribution entry for Goeppertia standleyi specifically was not directly retrieved during this research session. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy confirms the species under key 7582733 [1], but species-level occurrence data and associated distribution records were not retrieved before the search limit was reached.
Limited authoritative sources available for native range and habitat; further research needed.
In Cultivation
The registry records Goeppertia standleyi as in cultivation. No authoritative botanical garden publication, university extension record, or primary literature source documenting the cultivation status, propagation, or horticultural use of this species specifically has been located in a prose-citable form during this research session.
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 ICRAs by genus and family; Marantaceae does not appear on that list [6][7]. The genus Goeppertia is therefore without a formal cultivar registration body, and any cultivar names used in trade for species in this genus are not subject to an authoritative registration process at this time.
Digital Towns is an applicant for ICRA status and an aggregator of botanical nomenclatural data. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the International Society for Horticultural Science or any appointed registration authority.
The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) requires that any cultivar epithet, should one be registered in the future for selections of this species, be enclosed in single quotation marks and meet the formal requirements of the Code [3].