'Cynthia' · ← Goeppertia Updated 2026-08-13

GOEPPERTIA

Goeppertia roseopicta 'Cynthia'

A named cultivar of Goeppertia roseopicta whose originator and distinguishing traits remain undocumented in any primary record.

Overview

Goeppertia roseopicta 'Cynthia' is a cultivar name applied to a selection within Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez, a species in the family Marantaceae [1]. The parent species is native to western South America extending to western Brazil, where it grows in the wet tropical biome, as recorded by Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) [2]. The Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder documents Goeppertia roseopicta as grown as an ornamental foliage plant in wet tropical and subtropical regions [3].

Goeppertia Nees is the accepted genus name for the largest genus in Marantaceae, encompassing an estimated 260 species. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records the accepted combination Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez at species key 8023661, citing the 2012 revision by Borchsenius, Suárez and Prince as the establishing publication [1].

Names

Registered cultivar epithet. The name 'Cynthia' occupies the class of cultivar epithet as defined by the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), which requires a cultivar epithet to be enclosed in single quotation marks and not italicised [4]. The full cultivar name is therefore written Goeppertia roseopicta 'Cynthia'. No registration reference or registration date has been located in any primary record.

Trade designation. No trade designation has been located for this cultivar. No marketing name or trademark separate from the epithet 'Cynthia' appears in any primary record consulted during research.

Patent denomination. No plant patent has been located that names 'Cynthia' as an epithet or denomination, and no patent denomination can therefore be stated.

The basionym Maranta roseopicta Linden ex Lem. was published in Annales d'Horticulture Belge et Etrangère 16: 202 in 1866 [2]. Plants of the World Online accepts Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez and lists Calathea roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Regel as a synonym [2].

Origin

No originator is documented — this cultivar predates any registration authority for Marantaceae.

The registry carries no originator name, namer, parentage, origin place, origin date, derivation or first propagation site. No peer-reviewed publication establishing the cultivar's parentage or selection history has been located. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

Intellectual Property

No plant patent naming 'Cynthia' as an epithet or denomination has been located. The registry carries no patent number, and no patent term, filing date, grant date or patent-derived territorial protection can therefore be stated for this cultivar.

No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae [4]. The U.S. National Arboretum, which lists cultivar registration functions performed under ISHS mandate, does not list Marantaceae among the families with an appointed authority [4]. In the absence of an appointed authority, no formal cultivar register for Goeppertia exists that would supply a registration reference or confirmed originator record for 'Cynthia'.

Distinguishing Traits

No distinguishing traits for 'Cynthia' are documented in any primary record located during research. The registry row carries no distinguishing_traits value, and verification against a primary source has not been completed. No peer-reviewed or authoritative botanical description establishing what characters consistently distinguish 'Cynthia' from the wild type or from other named selections of Goeppertia roseopicta has been located. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

Documentation and Registration Context

The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and Plants of the World Online provide authoritative records for the parent species Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez, confirmed by the 2012 revision in Systematic Botany 37(3): 620–635 [1][2]. These records establish the accepted name and the synonymy with Calathea roseopicta, but do not address the cultivar 'Cynthia'.

Digital Towns is an applicant aggregator compiling nomenclatural evidence toward a future registration authority appointment for Marantaceae; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by the International Society for Horticultural Science or any currently appointed ICRA. The ICNCP requires a cultivar epithet to be enclosed in single quotation marks; this rule is applied to 'Cynthia' throughout this record [4]. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

Registry record

The entries below are the registry rows this article is written from. Each carries its own source, its role, and both dates. A row recorded as nomenclatural evidence is dated documentation of a name in use and is never cited in the prose above.

Registry card

Goeppertia roseopicta 'Cynthia' is a cultivar epithet applied to a selection within the rose-painted calathea, a Marantaceae species native to western South America and western Brazil. No originator, parentage, patent or formal distinguishing description has been located in any primary record. No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae.

Genus
Goeppertia
Species
roseopicta
Classification
not recorded
Originator
not documented
Established
not documented
Patent
none on record

Name classes

Three name classes with three different legal statuses attach to a cultivated plant: the registered cultivar epithet (governed by the ICNCP, printed in single quotes), any trade designation (a marketing name or trademark, never printed in single quotes), and the patent denomination (the name as published in a plant patent). Conflating them is the most common error in horticultural writing, and it is the one this registry exists to prevent.

NameClassSource
Cynthia Accepted evidence only Digital Towns registry — name in trade use, source verification pending (2026-08-11)
Placeholder record. No authoritative source for this cultivar has been located; Marantaceae has no ICRA and no register. Not citable in prose and does not count toward the indexing threshold. To be replaced by a sourced record from the USPTO -> journals -> dated-catalog research pass.

Origin and parentage

This registry has not located significant documentation to substantiate the origin of this name. No originator, introduction date, or registration record has been found in any source examined — no cultivar registration authority exists for Marantaceae that could have recorded one.

No independent dated documentation has been located to date. What this registry holds is its own record of the name in commercial use, 2026-08-11 — not third-party documentation.

This record is maintained openly and updates as documentation is located. Documented evidence of this cultivar's origin — dated catalogues, listings, or publications — can be submitted for verification.

Patent and propagation status

No plant patent is recorded for this cultivar in this registry. That is not the same as a positive finding that none exists: absence here means we have not located one.

Sources

  1. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez, species key 8023661. Cites: Borchsenius, F., Suárez, S. & Prince, L.M. 2012. Molecular phylogeny and redefined generic limits of Calathea (Marantaceae). Systematic Botany 37(3): 620–635. DOI: 10.1600/036364412X648571 (n.d.). GBIF Secretariat / Global Biodiversity Information Facility. https://www.gbif.org/species/8023661 Accessed 2026-08-12.
  2. Govaerts, R. et al. (2023). Goeppertia roseopicta (Linden ex Lem.) Borchs. & S.Suárez. In: International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Plants of the World Online. (2023-01-01). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Plants of the World Online (POWO). https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60461319-2 Accessed 2026-08-12.
  3. Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder — Goeppertia roseopicta (taxon ID 364366) (n.d.). Missouri Botanical Garden. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=364366&isprofile=0&pt=8 Accessed 2026-08-12.
  4. International Cultivar Name Registration — U.S. National Arboretum, USDA (n.d.). U.S. National Arboretum / USDA Agricultural Research Service. https://www.usna.usda.gov/science/icra/ Accessed 2026-08-12.

DIGITAL TOWNS REGISTRY · PLANTS · REVIEWED 2026-08-13