Ctenanthe 'Amagris'

Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'Amagris' is a cultivar of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana (É.Morren) K.Schum., a perennial species of the family Marantaceae. Plants of the World Online accepts the species under that authority, documenting it as native to Brazil (Bahia) and occurring in the seasonally dry tropical biome [3]. The genus Ctenanthe Eichler, established by August Wilhelm Eichler in 1884, is circumscribed by Plants of the World Online as 15 accepted species native to Costa Rica and South America, concentrated predominantly in Brazil [3].

The parent species takes its basionym from Calathea oppenheimiana É.Morren, described in Belgique Horticole 25: 271. f. 3 in 1875. Karl Moritz Schumann published the combination Ctenanthe oppenheimiana (É.Morren) K.Schum. in H.G.A. Engler (ed.), Das Pflanzenreich IV. 48 (Heft 11): 155, with a publication date of 8 July 1902, as recorded by the International Plant Names Index at LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:71824-2 [2]. The cultivar 'Amagris' is a selection within this species, arising by natural whole-plant mutation rather than by hybridisation; no seed parent or pollen parent is applicable [1].

The registry records two name rows for this cultivar, both carrying the string Amagris, and both derived from a single primary record: U.S. Plant Patent PP14641, granted 30 March 2004 [1]. Although the string is identical across both rows, the two name classes are legally and nomenclaturally distinct and are recorded separately.

Registered epithet: 'Amagris'. Under the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), a cultivar epithet is enclosed in single quotation marks and is not italicised. The epithet 'Amagris' is the denomination as used in the patent record and is treated as the accepted cultivar epithet in this registry [1].

Patent denomination: Amagris. U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 uses the denomination Amagris as the cultivar name within the botanical classification section of the patent document [1]. The patent denomination and the cultivar epithet occupy the same string in this case, but the name-class distinction between them is preserved in the registry record.

Trade designation: U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 does not mention any trade designation separate from the denomination 'Amagris' [1]. No authoritative source for a separate trade designation has been located. The patent is silent on this point, and no trade designation is recorded in this registry for this cultivar.

U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 names René Denis as the sole inventor and documents the following primary record for the origin of this cultivar [1]. The cultivar was discovered and selected by René Denis as a naturally occurring whole-plant mutation within a cultivated population of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana in a controlled environment at Beervelde-Lochristi, Belgium, in June 2000 [1]. The registry derivation field describes the discovery within a population of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana in controlled conditions at that location and date; the patent additionally specifies that the parent population was the burle-marxii selection of the species (itself not patented) — a detail the registry derivation field currently omits, and which a human reviewer should reconcile with the primary record [1].

The classification of this cultivar is recorded as a selection, consistent with the patent description of a discovered mutation rather than a bred hybrid [1]. Because the cultivar arose by whole-plant mutation, no seed parent or pollen parent fields are applicable; the sole documented lineage is the unnamed-in-registry but patent-specified burle-marxii selection of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana [1].

The patent application was filed on 5 February 2003, and the patent was granted on 30 March 2004 [1]. The patent was assigned to Denis Plants BVBA of Beervelde-Lochristi, Belgium [1]. The registry records René Denis also as the namer of the cultivar epithet 'Amagris', consistent with the inventor and applicant being the same natural person in the patent record [1].

U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 states that asexual reproduction by tissue culture micropropagation was conducted at Beervelde-Lochristi, Belgium, beginning in 2000, and that this method of propagation demonstrated the stability and true-to-type reproduction of the cultivar's distinguishing characters across successive generations [1].

U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 was granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on 30 March 2004, with publication number USPP14641P2 and application number US10/358,976 [1][4]. The patent was assigned to Denis Plants BVBA and names René Denis as the sole inventor [1].

U.S. plant patents carry a term of 20 years from the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 163. The application for PP14641 was filed on 5 February 2003 [1]; a 20-year term from that date places expiry in February 2023. The Google Patents record for publication number USPP14641P2 carries the legal-status notation 'Expired - Lifetime', consistent with that calculation [4]. The registry patent_expires_on field is currently recorded as null; the Google Patents legal-status notation and the statutory term calculation both indicate the patent has expired, and a human reviewer should update the registry field accordingly.

Expiry of the patent means the exclusive right granted by PP14641 is no longer in force. The cultivar itself and its epithet remain in the nomenclatural record and are not affected by the patent's expiry.

U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 characterises Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'Amagris' by four distinguishing features as stated in the patent document [1]:

• Compact plant habit, distinguishing it from the broader parent species population;
• Narrow leaf shape;
• Upper leaf surface grayed green in color with dark green margins and venation;
• Lower leaf surface grayed purple in color.

The patent botanical classification designates the plant as Ctenanthe oppenheimiana cultivar Amagris [1]. The stability of these distinguishing characters was demonstrated by tissue culture micropropagation carried out at Beervelde-Lochristi, Belgium, beginning in 2000, as stated in the patent [1]. Beyond the distinguishing character data stated in the patent, limited authoritative sources are available regarding the specific cultivation profile of 'Amagris'; further research needed.

No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae. The Commission Cultivar Registration of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) appoints ICRAs and requires each to operate within the provisions of the ICNCP [5]. The ISHS cultivar registration page lists appointed authorities by genus or family group, and Marantaceae does not appear among them as of the date of access [5].

For reference, the International Aroid Society is the appointed ICRA for the family Araceae (excepting Calla L. and Zantedeschia Spreng.) [5]. No equivalent body has been appointed for any genus within Marantaceae, including Ctenanthe Eichler.

In the absence of an appointed ICRA for Marantaceae, the cultivar epithet 'Amagris' is not formally registered under the ICNCP system. U.S. Plant Patent PP14641 constitutes the primary public record establishing the denomination, the inventor, the assignee, and the distinguishing characters [1]. The ICNCP requires a cultivar epithet to be enclosed in single quotation marks; this registry applies that convention throughout [5].

Digital Towns is an applicant aggregator and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the ISHS or any appointed ICRA.

The primary public record for Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'Amagris' is U.S. Plant Patent PP14641, accessible via the USPTO full-text patent publication system and confirmed by the Google Patents record for publication number USPP14641P2 [1][4]. These sources establish the inventor, assignee, discovery location and date, parentage by mutation, propagation method, distinguishing characters, filing date of 5 February 2003, and grant date of 30 March 2004.

The taxonomic standing of the parent species is documented by the International Plant Names Index at LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:71824-2, recording Schumann's 1902 combination and the 1875 basionym [2], and confirmed by Plants of the World Online, which accepts the species and documents its native range in Brazil (Bahia) and its seasonally dry tropical biome [3]. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy independently records the basionym and transfer [6].

The absence of an appointed ICRA for Marantaceae is documented by the ISHS cultivar registration page, accessed 12 August 2026 [5]. Two registry conflicts identified during verification are noted in the origin and intellectual-property sections of this page and require human review: the registry derivation field omits the named burle-marxii parent selection stated in the patent [1], and the registry patent_expires_on field is recorded as null despite Google Patents indicating the patent has expired [4].