Stromanthe

Stromanthe Sond. is a genus of flowering plants in the family Marantaceae, order Zingiberales. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (species key 2761248, accessed 2026-08-12) places the genus in class Liliopsida, phylum Tracheophyta, kingdom Plantae, and cites the protologue as Neue Allgemeine Deutsche Garten- und Blumenzeitung 5: 225 (1849). [1] Plants of the World Online (POWO), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, records 20 accepted species as of the 2026-08-12 retrieval, while Zanotti, Ospina and Martín (2017) characterise the genus in Phytotaxa as containing approximately 15 species. [2][6] The registry records an estimate of 13 species; all three figures reflect the ongoing state of taxonomic revision rather than an error in any single source, and a human reviewer is required to reconcile them against a current species checklist.

Two generic names are now treated as synonyms under Stromanthe: Kerchovea Joriss. and Marantopsis Körn., both recorded as collapsed into the genus by the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy [1] and confirmed by the World Flora Online. [5] The genus has no appointed International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA); the practical consequences of that gap are described in the Registration section below.

According to Zanotti, Ospina and Martín (2017), writing in Phytotaxa, species of Stromanthe occur in humid forests from southern Mexico to Bolivia, with centres of diversity in Central America and eastern Brazil. [2] The same authors note that the circumscription of the genus has been subject to historical discussion and remains a subject of controversy: the morphological characteristics used to separate the genera of the Myrosma group — within which Stromanthe is placed on the basis of both morphological characters and phylogenetic analyses of molecular data — are not considered sufficiently informative to produce a stable delimitation. [2]

The World Flora Online (WFO-4000036906, accessed 2026-08-12) lists among accepted species: Stromanthe boliviana K.Schum., Stromanthe confusa K.Schum., Stromanthe guapilesensis (Donn.Sm.) H.Kenn. & Nicolson, Stromanthe hjalmarssonii (Körn.) Petersen ex K.Schum., Stromanthe jacquinii (Roem. & Schult.) H.Kenn. & Nicolson, Stromanthe macrochlamys (Woodson & Standl.) H.Kenn. & Nicolson, Stromanthe palustris H.Kenn., Stromanthe schottiana Eichl., Stromanthe sellowiana K.Schum., and Stromanthe stromanthoides (J.F.Macbr.) L.Andersson. [5] That list is partial; Plants of the World Online records a higher total of 20 accepted species as of 2026-08-12. [6]

Stromanthe is an original genus name, not a transferred combination; it has no basionym. Wilhelm Sonder published the genus in 1849 in Neue Allgemeine Deutsche Garten- und Blumenzeitung volume 5, page 225, simultaneously establishing the type species Stromanthe sanguinea Sond., as confirmed by the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (key 2761248, accessed 2026-08-12) [1] and Plants of the World Online. [6]

The nomenclatural history at the species level is more complex. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records Stromanthe sanguinea Sond. — the species name used in U.S. Plant Patent PP15475 — as a homonym, listing Stromanthe thalia as the accepted name for that entity in the GBIF backbone. [1] This registry records a conflict on that point: the patent denomination cannot be editorially corrected, and the species name as stated in Patent PP15475 is reproduced here as the patent states it. [3] A human reviewer is required to determine whether the genus and species fields in the relevant registry record should be updated to reflect the GBIF treatment.

Two additional generic names have been treated as synonyms under Stromanthe. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy records Kerchovea Joriss. and Marantopsis Körn. as synonyms [1], confirmed by the World Flora Online. [5] Zanotti, Ospina and Martín (2017) characterise the broader history of circumscription within the Myrosma group as subject to ongoing controversy. [2]

The registry holds three cultivar records for Stromanthe. Two are verified against primary records; one is a placeholder pending source verification.

'Valmic' — U.S. Plant Patent PP15475, granted 2005-01-11, names Oscar R. Valstar as inventor and Handelskwekerij Gebr Valstar NL as applicant. [3] The patent describes the plant as a new and distinct cultivar of Stromanthe sanguinea characterised by an upright and outwardly spreading habit, freely basally clumping growth, and large green and creamy white-coloured leaves with purple-coloured lower surfaces. [3] The patent states the parent cultivar as Stripestar, from which 'Valmic' differs primarily in leaf colouration. [3] Under 35 U.S.C. § 163, U.S. plant patents carry a term of 20 years from the filing date; the application for PP15475 was filed 2004-01-28, placing the expiry of the patent term at 2024-01-28 by that calculation. [3]

The trade designation Triostar is associated in wide commercial use with the cultivar 'Valmic'. U.S. Plant Patent PP15475 does not mention the designation Triostar, and no authoritative source establishing this trade designation has been located in this research pass. [3] The registry records Triostar as a trade designation — not a cultivar epithet — notes that it is not printed in single quotes and is not governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, and maintains a disambiguation page at /plants/stromanthe/triostar-or-valmic/ to document the distinction.

'ROTOLANTE10' — U.S. Plant Patent PP25760, granted 2015-07-28, names Denis Rotolante and Charles W. McDaniel as inventors, and Silver Krome Gardens Inc. of Homestead, Florida as assignee. [4] The registry currently records only Denis Rotolante as originator; the primary record names two inventors, and this discrepancy is flagged for human review. The patent states that the predecessor plant was collected in South America, placed into tissue culture where somaclonal variations occurred, and that the new variety was discovered and selected as a naturally occurring single-plant mutation in a controlled greenhouse environment in Homestead, Florida, with first propagation by vegetative cuttings in the summer of 2002. [4] The application for PP25760 was filed 2013-01-30; the 20-year patent term from filing extends to approximately 2033. [4]

'Magic Star' — The registry holds a placeholder record for this cultivar epithet. No originator is documented — this cultivar predates any registration authority for Marantaceae. No patent number has been located. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

No International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA) has been designated for the family Marantaceae. The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), which appoints ICRAs under the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, lists no authority for Marantaceae as of 2026-01-03. [7] The Heliconia Society International holds ICRA status for other genera but not for Marantaceae. [8] The registry records icra_authority as null and dt_is_icra as false for Stromanthe.

In the absence of an ICRA, cultivar names for Stromanthe lack any central registration mechanism. The cultivar epithet 'Valmic' — established by U.S. Plant Patent PP15475, granted 2005-01-11 [3] — and the epithet 'ROTOLANTE10' — established by U.S. Plant Patent PP25760, granted 2015-07-28 [4] — are governed by the ICNCP as applicable to any published cultivar name, but neither has been lodged with or registered by a recognised ICRA. The plant patent system provides the only independently verifiable primary record for these names. Cultivar names in trade use that lack both a patent and a registration authority — such as 'Magic Star' in this registry — cannot be assessed for validity or priority without a primary source. Digital Towns records the denomination class for this genus as stromanthe and does not itself function as an ICRA for this family.

Each factual claim on this page carries an inline source marker resolving to a numbered entry in the Sources section. Claims sourced from a plant patent are drawn from the primary patent record. Where the registry and a primary record disagree, the conflict is stated explicitly. This page records two such conflicts: the species name Stromanthe sanguinea as used in Patent PP15475 versus the GBIF homonym finding [1][3], and the single inventor listed in the registry for 'ROTOLANTE10' versus the two inventors named in Patent PP25760. [4] Both conflicts require human review before the registry record is updated.

Species counts should be read as snapshots at the retrieval dates stated. The accepted species count varies among sources — 13 in the registry estimate, approximately 15 in Zanotti et al. (2017) [2], and 20 in Plants of the World Online as of 2026-08-12 [6] — and the difference is a consequence of ongoing taxonomic revision. The trade designation Triostar and the cultivar epithet 'Valmic' describe the same plant but are governed by different instruments and carry different legal statuses; U.S. Plant Patent PP15475 does not mention the designation Triostar. [3]