'Magic Star' · ← Stromanthe Updated 2026-08-14

STROMANTHE

Stromanthe 'Magic Star'

A cultivar epithet in trade use for which no primary taxonomic, patent, or registration record has been located.

Overview

The epithet 'Magic Star' circulates in horticultural trade as a cultivar name applied to plants sold under the genus Stromanthe Sond. (Marantaceae). Plants of the World Online (POWO), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, accepts 20 species within Stromanthe Sond. as of 2026 [1]. The genus was first published by Wilhelm Sonder in Neue Allgemeine Deutsche Garten- und Blumenzeitung 5: 225 (1849), a fact confirmed independently by the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy [2]. POWO records the native range of the genus as Mexico to Tropical America, within the wet tropical biome [1].

No protologue, combination publication, or formal registration record has been located for the epithet 'Magic Star' under any species of Stromanthe. Neither POWO nor the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy carries a record for 'Magic Star' as a registered cultivar epithet [1][2]. Trade listings associate the name with plants offered under two different accepted species, Stromanthe thalia (Vell.) J.M.A.Braga and Stromanthe sanguinea Sond., both accepted by POWO [1], and no primary record resolves which species, if either, is the correct placement.

Names and Name Classes

The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) requires a cultivar epithet to be enclosed in single quotation marks [3]. On that basis, the name in use is written 'Magic Star'. The registry holds this string in the name class accepted_epithet, reflecting trade use rather than formal registration.

Registered epithet. No formal cultivar registration of 'Magic Star' under the ICNCP has been located. No registration authority, registration reference number, or registration date is recorded in the registry for this epithet [1][2].

Trade designation. No primary source establishes 'Magic Star' as a formally defined trade designation distinct from a cultivar epithet. Limited authoritative sources available; further research needed.

Patent denomination. No plant patent denominated 'Magic Star' for any Stromanthe cultivar has been located. The registry carries no patent number, no filing date, and no grant date for this cultivar. For comparison, U.S. Plant Patent PP15475 names Oscar R. Valstar as inventor of Stromanthe 'Valmic', and U.S. Plant Patent PP25760 names Denis Rotolante and Charles W. McDaniel as inventors of 'ROTOLANTE10'; 'Magic Star' is documented by no equivalent primary record [1][2].

Origin and Authorship

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

The registry carries no originator name, no namer, no origination place, no origination date, no filing date, no grant date, no assignee, and no parentage for 'Magic Star'. No derivation or sport-of relationship has been established by any primary source [1][2].

Registration Context

No International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA) has been appointed for Marantaceae. The ICRA system is administered by the Commission for Cultivar Registration of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), which appoints authorities and monitors their work under the provisions of the ICNCP [3]. As of 2026, no organisation has been appointed to that role for Marantaceae, and no register of Stromanthe cultivar epithets maintained by an ICRA has been located [3].

The International Aroid Society holds the ICRA appointment for Araceae. Marantaceae is a separate family in the order Zingiberales and is not covered by that appointment. Digital Towns is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by the ISHS or any appointed ICRA. In the absence of an appointed ICRA for Marantaceae, no formal registration of 'Magic Star' as a cultivar epithet under the ICNCP is possible through an existing registration authority [3].

Documentation and Source Coverage

The primary taxonomic sources available for this cultivar page are Plants of the World Online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, accessed 2026-08-14) [1] and the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (accessed 2026-08-14) [2]. Both confirm the genus Stromanthe Sond. and its accepted species. Neither source carries any record for 'Magic Star' as a registered cultivar epithet [1][2].

No botanic garden publication, university extension document, peer-reviewed horticultural source, or USPTO plant patent specifically documenting 'Magic Star' in cultivation or establishing its origin has been located. Of the three Stromanthe cultivars in this registry, only the two with U.S. plant patents carry any primary documentation of their origin and horticultural characteristics; 'Magic Star' has no such record [1][2].

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

Stromanthe 'Magic Star' is a cultivar epithet circulating in horticultural trade under the genus Stromanthe Sond. (Marantaceae). No protologue, plant patent, formal registration, or originator record has been located for this epithet from any primary source. Its nomenclatural status remains unresolved.

Genus
Stromanthe
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
Magic Star 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. Stromanthe Sond. — Plants of the World Online. The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (n.d.). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:329877-2 Accessed 2026-08-14.
  2. Stromanthe Sond. — GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. (n.d.). Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). https://www.gbif.org/species/2761248 Accessed 2026-08-14.
  3. Cultivar Registration — Commission for Cultivar Registration, International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). (n.d.). International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). https://ishs.org/scientific-structure/cmnr-cultivar-registration/ Accessed 2026-08-14.

DIGITAL TOWNS REGISTRY · PLANTS · REVIEWED 2026-08-14