Species · genus Goeppertia · Marantaceae
Rattlesnake Plant
Goeppertia lancifolia (Boom) Borchs. & S.Suárez
Also known as: Calathea lancifolia · Calathea Rattlesnake · Rattlesnake Calathea
Cultivars of G. lancifolia
The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.
No named cultivars catalogued under G. lancifolia yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.
Guide
The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.
The Rattlesnake Plant
Goeppertia lancifolia, still often sold under its old name Calathea lancifolia, is an evergreen clump-forming perennial grown for its patterned foliage rather than its flowers. It belongs to the Marantaceae, the prayer-plant family, and stays fairly compact for an indoor specimen.
Source: RHS
Brazilian Rainforest Roots
This plant hails from Brazil, specifically the Rio de Janeiro region, where it would have grown as part of the forest understorey. It has passed through a couple of names in cultivation, once classed as Calathea insignis and Calathea lancifolia before being placed in Goeppertia.
Source: RHS
Warmth, Shade and Steady Moisture
Grow it in peat-free compost under bright indirect or filtered light, in partial shade rather than full sun. It wants high humidity, still air free of draughts, and a constant temperature of at least 16°C. Water moderately through the growing season, let it stay just moist over winter, and feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertiliser while it is actively growing.
Source: RHS
Divide in Late Spring
The straightforward way to make more plants is division, best carried out in late spring.
Source: RHS
Undulating Patterned Leaves
The lance-shaped leaves are pale green and undulate along their edges, marked with dark patches either side of the midrib, while the undersides show a deep purple. In summer it can send up short spikes of small yellow flowers, though under glass these are a bonus rather than a given. Left to itself it clumps outward and reaches up to about 60cm.
Source: RHS
Whitefly and Red Spider Mite
Under glass this plant can attract glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite, so it is worth checking leaves for early signs of either. Beyond these it is otherwise reported as generally disease-free.
Source: RHS
Low Fuss, No Pruning
No pruning is needed to keep this plant in good shape, and it is considered a low-maintenance choice for a patio or container setting. Left undisturbed, it takes some five to ten years to reach full maturity.
Source: RHS
Care recipe
The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.
Care notes are early — not yet verified
- Light
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Water
- ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
- Humidity
- ai:claude-opus-4-8
- Soil
- ai:claude-fable-5
- Care
- ai:claude-fable-5
Bright, indirect
≈ every 10 days
High
18–27 °C
Airy, moisture-retentive mix of peat/coir with perlite
Division of the rootball at repotting
Diluted balanced feed monthly through the growing season
Moderate
Rarely flowers indoors; grown for its foliage
Non-toxic to cats & dogs
Prayer-plant family (Marantaceae). ASPCA lists Calathea insignis (= Goeppertia insignis) non-toxic; the genus is uniformly safe. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.
Reference images
Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.
Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA
Kept true by its growers
Every fact here carries its source. Grow Rattlesnake Plant yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.
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