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Species library › Goeppertia › Goeppertia sellowii
Other Partly documented

Goeppertia sellowii

Goeppertia sellowii (formerly Calathea sellowii) is a widespread prayer-plant of the Cerrado of central Brazil, from Minas Gerais and Goiás to Mato Grosso, Tocantins and São Paulo, reaching Paraguay and Bolivia, mostly at 500 to 1,100 m. It grows in seasonally dry savanna and gallery-forest margins with a five-month dry winter and cool nights. It is one of the few Goeppertia that wants a genuine dry rest and brighter light than a rainforest species.

At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Rhizomatous herb of cerrado savanna, cerradão woodland and gallery-forest edges on the Brazilian plateau, in the herb layer under a light, open tree cover. The rhizome survives the dry season and periodic fires, resprouting with the rains.

Recorded from 50 to about 1,100 m, median 755 m (83 records): the central plateau around Brasília, Goiânia and the Minas Gerais highlands. A 5,104 m record is an error.

Minas GeraisGoiásDistrito FederalMato GrossoMato Grosso do SulTocantinsSão PauloParaguayBoliviaBrazil West-CentralBrazil SoutheastBrazil South

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.