Ctenanthe 'VALCOSTA2'

Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'VALCOSTA2' is a cultivar of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana (É.Morren) K.Schum., a perennial of the seasonally dry tropical biome native to Brazil (Bahia) [2]. The species was first transferred into Ctenanthe by Karl Schumann in 1902 in H.G.A. Engler (ed.), Das Pflanzenreich, IV, 48: 153, based on the basionym Calathea oppenheimiana É.Morren (1875); the accepted name and authority are confirmed by Plants of the World Online (POWO), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as of August 2026 [2].

The genus Ctenanthe Eichler, established by August Wilhelm Eichler in 1884, is circumscribed by POWO as comprising 15 accepted species native to Costa Rica and South America, predominantly Brazil [2]. 'VALCOSTA2' is identified by U.S. Plant Patent PP35039 as a new and distinct variety of the species, originating as a naturally occurring whole-plant mutation discovered in a cultivated population at a commercial greenhouse in Maasland, the Netherlands [1]. The patent describes the cultivar as typically produced as an indoor ornamental plant [1].

Three name classes are relevant to this cultivar, and they must not be conflated.

Cultivar epithet. The cultivar epithet is VALCOSTA2, and the correct written form when combined with the botanical name is Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'VALCOSTA2', with the epithet enclosed in single quotation marks as required by the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). The denomination class for this cultivar is Ctenanthe [1]. No separate registration of this epithet with an International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA) has been located; the epithet recorded in this registry derives from the patent denomination as the primary documented source [1].

Patent denomination. U.S. Plant Patent PP35039, published under publication number USPP35039P2 and granted 2023-03-14, carries the title Ctenanthe plant named 'VALCOSTA2' and assigns the variety denomination VALCOSTA2 to the inventive plant [1]. The patent denomination and the cultivar epithet share an identical character string; they are nevertheless distinct name classes under the ICNCP — a patent denomination establishes intellectual-property rights, whereas a cultivar epithet is a nomenclatural designation [1].

Trade designation. No trade designation distinct from the patent denomination has been located in any citable source for this cultivar. The patent document itself does not establish or mention any trade designation; that absence is a positive finding from examination of the primary record, not a data gap [1].

U.S. Plant Patent PP35039 names Oscar Valstar of Maasland, the Netherlands, as the sole inventor [1]. The patent records that in May 2017, Valstar discovered a plurality of naturally occurring, whole-plant mutations growing amongst a cultivated population of Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'Compactstar' (not patented) at his commercial greenhouse in Maasland [1]. The mutation type is classified in the patent as a naturally occurring whole-plant sport [1].

The newly discovered plants were isolated for further observation to confirm distinctness and stability. After evaluation, one plant was selected as exhibiting unique foliage coloration and a growth habit considered suitable for commercial production, and was given the denomination 'VALCOSTA2' [1]. Asexual reproduction of 'VALCOSTA2' was carried out by way of leaf cuttings [1].

A conflict between the research brief and the registry record requires disclosure here. The registry records that the first asexual reproduction was performed in May of a subsequent year after the May 2017 discovery. However, the verified research brief notes that the primary patent document states that both discovery and first asexual reproduction occurred in May 2017. The registry value is preserved here as recorded; a human reviewer is required to resolve which reading of the primary record is correct before either value is treated as authoritative [1].

The U.S. application (US17/803,416) was filed on 2022-06-27 and claimed priority to Community Plant Variety Rights application number 2021/2548, filed 2021-10-11 [1]. The patent was reassigned from Oscar Valstar to Gebr. Valstar Beheer B.V. on 2022-12-20 [1].

U.S. Plant Patent PP35039, granted 2023-03-14 and published under the number USPP35039P2, is the primary intellectual-property instrument documenting this cultivar [1]. The patent is recorded as active in this registry. The current assignee, as recorded in the patent document, is Gebr. Valstar Beheer B.V., following reassignment from the inventor Oscar Valstar on 2022-12-20 [1].

Under the U.S. Plant Patent Act, a plant patent confers the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant and from using, offering for sale, or selling the plant so reproduced, or any of its parts, throughout the United States [1]. The term of protection is 20 years from the application filing date. The filing date of record for PP35039 is 2022-06-27, placing the nominal patent term through 2042 absent any intervening lapse; the exact expiration date is not stated on the face of the patent as retrieved, and the registry does not record a value for patent_expires_on [1].

The U.S. application claimed priority to Community Plant Variety Rights (CPVR) application number 2021/2548, filed 2021-10-11 [1]. The scope and status of any CPVR protection arising from that application are not addressed in the portion of the primary patent record retrieved for this registry entry. Limited public data available; further research needed on the CPVR application outcome.

U.S. Plant Patent PP35039 enumerates the following consistently observed distinguishing characteristics of 'VALCOSTA2' [1]:

Large laminae are borne on long, upright petioles that arise directly from the base of the plant. The adaxial (upper) laminar surface is light greyed-green, with broad portions of the lamina adjacent to the veins prominently coloured with a mixture of dark green to yellow-green. The abaxial (lower) laminar surface is coloured with a mixture of dark greyed-purple and brown, and is lightly suffused with yellow-green at the margins. The patent further states that all of these characteristics are stable and reproduced consistently from generation to generation through asexual propagation [1].

These traits are described in the patent as distinguishing 'VALCOSTA2' principally from its sport parent, Ctenanthe oppenheimiana 'Compactstar' (not patented), particularly in respect of the foliage coloration described above [1]. The patent does not provide a side-by-side quantitative character table in the portion of the primary record available to this registry; the distinguishing character claims rest on the summary traits stated in the patent abstract and description [1].

No botanical garden accession records, herbarium vouchers, or peer-reviewed morphological studies specifically documenting the traits of 'VALCOSTA2' have been located in citable sources beyond the patent record. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae. The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) maintains the system of ICRA appointments; as of the date of this page, no authority for the family Marantaceae appears on the ISHS cultivar registration roster [3][4], and the genus record in this registry records icra_authority as null. This is a documented fact about the family, not a gap in registry data.

Because no ICRA exists for Marantaceae, there is no formal international register against which cultivar epithets in Ctenanthe can be validated, and no registration reference number can be assigned by such an authority. The denomination 'VALCOSTA2' therefore derives its primary documented provenance from U.S. Plant Patent PP35039, the only citable primary record locating this epithet in an authoritative instrument [1].

The ICNCP requires that a cultivar epithet be enclosed in single quotation marks when written in combination with a botanical name. The denomination as published in PP35039 — 'VALCOSTA2' — satisfies the character requirements for a cultivar epithet under the ICNCP, but no formal registration with an ICRA has been confirmed for this cultivar [1]. Digital Towns is an applicant to the ISHS for cultivar registration authority for Marantaceae; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the ISHS or any ICRA, and it does not currently hold that authority.

The primary citable source for 'VALCOSTA2' is U.S. Plant Patent PP35039, which provides the cultivar denomination, inventor identity and location, sport-parent identity, discovery date and place, mutation classification, asexual reproduction method, CPVR priority application date, U.S. filing date, assignee reassignment date, distinguishing traits, and patent status [1]. This is the sole primary-record source for the cultivar as an entity distinct from the parent species.

The accepted species name Ctenanthe oppenheimiana (É.Morren) K.Schum., its basionym, the date and citation of its formal transfer by Schumann (1902), its native range, and its biome classification are documented by Plants of the World Online (POWO), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and by the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) record for the name [2]. The genus circumscription, including species count and geographic range, is sourced from the same POWO record [2].

No botanical garden accession records, herbarium vouchers, or peer-reviewed publications specifically documenting 'VALCOSTA2' as a cultivar in cultivation have been located in citable sources beyond the patent record. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.