'Fascinator' · ← Maranta Updated 2026-08-14

MARANTA

Maranta 'Fascinator'

A cultivar epithet in trade use within Maranta L., linked historically to botanical synonyms of Maranta leuconeura published in the 1890s.

Overview

The cultivar epithet 'Fascinator' is recorded in trade use within the denomination class Maranta. The genus Maranta L. is the type genus of the family Marantaceae, first published by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum 1: 2 (1753) [1]. The accepted species most directly associated with the 'Fascinator' name is Maranta leuconeura É.Morren, published in Annales d'Horticulture Belge et Étrangère 24: 323 (1874) [2]. Plants of the World Online records two botanical names incorporating the word 'fascinator' as synonyms of that species: Maranta fascinator L.Linden and Rodigas (1894) and Calathea fascinator (L.Linden and Rodigas) L.H.Bailey (1900) [2]. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy independently confirms the same synonymy [3]. A botanical synonym is not a cultivar epithet under the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) and does not confer cultivar status. The registry records 'Fascinator' as a name in trade use; verification against a primary cultivar record remains pending.

Name Classes

Registered epithet. The cultivar epithet 'Fascinator' is the name recorded by the Digital Towns registry for this entry within the denomination class Maranta. No authoritative registration of this epithet with any body operating under International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) authority has been located [4].

Trade designation. No trade designation separate from the epithet 'Fascinator' has been documented for this cultivar in any located primary source. The registry carries no trade designation record for this entry.

Patent denomination. No plant patent bearing the denomination 'Fascinator' within the genus Maranta has been located in the USPTO patent database. The registry patent number field for this cultivar carries no confirmed value.

Origin and Authorship

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

The botanical name Maranta fascinator L.Linden and Rodigas was published in 1894 in L'Illustration Horticole 41: 105 by Lucien Linden and Émile Rodigas [2]. That publication is a botanical protologue, not a cultivar registration, and its authorship does not constitute originator documentation in the ICNCP sense. The transfer to Calathea fascinator was made by Liberty Hyde Bailey in Cyclopedia of American Horticulture 1: 213 (1900) [2]. Neither publication establishes a breeder, a place of selection, a parentage, or a date of first propagation in the sense required by the ICNCP. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

Intellectual Property

No plant patent for a cultivar of Maranta bearing the epithet 'Fascinator' has been located. The registry carries no patent number, filing date, grant date, assignee, or expiry date for this cultivar. For context, U.S. Plant Patent PP11962 covers a different selection of Maranta leuconeura, the cultivar denomination 'Beauty Kim', and documents a naturally occurring whole-plant mutation discovered in Spring 1997 in San Jose Penula, Guatemala [6]. PP11962 does not address the cultivar 'Fascinator' and establishes no connection between that cultivar and the 'Beauty Kim' selection [6].

Registration Context

No International Cultivar Registration Authority has been appointed for Marantaceae. The ISHS appoints ICRAs through its Commission on Cultivar Registration, and those authorities operate within the provisions of the ICNCP [4]. No such appointment covers the family Marantaceae or the genus Maranta. By contrast, the International Aroid Society holds an ICRA appointment for the family Araceae [5]; no equivalent organisation has been appointed for Marantaceae. The cultivar epithet 'Fascinator' has therefore never been formally registered with any body operating under ISHS authority. Digital Towns records the epithet as a name in trade use within the denomination class Maranta and is an applicant in the ICRA process; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the ISHS or any appointed registration authority.

Documentation

The primary sources available for this page address the taxonomy of Maranta leuconeura É.Morren and the synonymy of the botanical names bearing the word 'fascinator'. Plants of the World Online records the species and its synonymy, including the publication details for the Linden and Rodigas name of 1894 [2]. The GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, from the 2023 checklist dataset, independently confirms the placement of Calathea fascinator as a synonym of Maranta leuconeura [3]. No primary cultivar description, documented vegetative propagation history, or documented commercial distribution pathway for the cultivar epithet 'Fascinator' has been found. 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

Maranta 'Fascinator' is a cultivar epithet in trade use within the denomination class Maranta (Marantaceae). The epithet shares its root with two botanical names now treated as synonyms of Maranta leuconeura É.Morren. No plant patent, formal cultivar registration, or documented originator has been located.

Genus
Maranta
Species
not attributed
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
Fascinator 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.

See an error, or have documentation we lack? Submissions open shortly. Corrections are reviewed against documentation before the record changes.

Sources

  1. Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species Plantarum 1: 2. — Maranta L.: genus page, Plants of the World Online (International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025) (1753-01-01). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Plants of the World Online. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000147-2 Accessed 2026-08-14.
  2. Morren, É. (1874). Maranta leuconeura É.Morren — Ann. Hort. Belge Étrangère 24: 323. Plants of the World Online (International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025) (2025-01-01). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Plants of the World Online. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:797361-1 Accessed 2026-08-14.
  3. GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Maranta leuconeura É.Morren. Checklist dataset. (2023-01-01). Global Biodiversity Information Facility. https://www.gbif.org/species/2761337 Accessed 2026-08-14.
  4. International Society for Horticultural Science — Commission on Cultivar Registration: International Cultivar Registration Authorities (n.d.). International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). https://ishs.org/scientific-structure/cmnr-cultivar-registration/ Accessed 2026-08-14.
  5. International Aroid Society — Aroid Cultivar Registry: About. International Aroid Society as ICRA for Araceae, appointed by ISHS. (n.d.). International Aroid Society. https://www.aroidcultivars.org/about Accessed 2026-08-14.
  6. U.S. Plant Patent PP11962 — Maranta plant named Beauty Kim (Maranta leuconeura). United States Patent and Trademark Office. (2001-01-02). United States Patent and Trademark Office. https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/PP11962 Accessed 2026-08-14.

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