Species · genus Goeppertia · Marantaceae

Calathea picturata

Goeppertia picturata (K.Koch & Linden) Borchs. & S.Suárez

Also known as: Calathea Argentea · Silver Calathea · Calathea Vandenheckei

Growth habit

perennial

Native range

Brazil North

Reference · G. picturata

Cultivars of G. picturata

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under G. picturata 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.

A perennial of the Brazilian tropical understory, Goeppertia picturata grows beneath the forest canopy where light is filtered and the air stays moist. Give it bright indirect light away from direct sun, even moisture without sogginess, and warm humid air. Water when the top inch of mix is dry, hedging toward slightly dry rather than wet to avoid root rot.

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

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

18–27 °C

Soil mix

Airy, moisture-retentive mix of peat/coir with perlite

Propagation

Division of the rootball at repotting

Fertilizing

Diluted balanced feed monthly through the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors; grown for its foliage

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

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.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

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 Calathea picturata yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.