Light
Bright indirect • approx. 10,000–20,000 lux








Buy 4 plants, get 1 free
VAT included · plus
Your new plant has just travelled a long way and needs a calm start in its new home. For step-by-step unboxing and first-week care, check our after-delivery care guide. For deeper tips on how your plant settles in over the next weeks, read our houseplant acclimatization guide.
Secure shipping, carefully packed orders with safe delivery across the EU, UK and Switzerland.
28-day plant guarantee, if a plant arrives damaged or fails soon after delivery, we help you make it right.
Free returns, simple, cost-free returns according to our policy.
For full details, please see:
Please head to our FAQ Page or Contact us.
Quick Care Guide
Light
Bright indirect • approx. 10,000–20,000 lux
Watering
Water when upper 20–30% dry
Substrate
Moisture-retentive but airy • Fine bark/coir + perlite or pumice • Good drainage
Temperature
Ideal: 18–28 °C • Avoid below: 15 °C
Humidity
Humid 60–80 % +
Growth habit
Upright clumping rhizomatous herbaceous perennial.
Support
not needed
Growth speed
Average
Max size indoors
Max. height: 75 cm • Max. spread: 75 cm
Toxicity & safety
Non-toxic
Origin & habitat
Native to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)
Outdoor growing
Outside from 15 °C · sheltered spot
These care values are quick reference points for indoor growing. Use them as a guide, then adjust for pot size, substrate, temperature and how quickly the substrate dries.
For more detail, read the full product description or visit our Plant Care Guides.
Goeppertia (Calathea) insignis is the rattlesnake plant, a narrow-leaved prayer plant with wavy green blades, dark oval markings, and purple undersides. The leaves rise from the base on slender petioles, then arch outward as the plant grows into a fuller clump.
This species has more movement and sharper leaf shape than many round-leaved Goeppertia. The long patterned leaves shift through the day and often lift in the evening, showing more of the darker undersides.
Goeppertia insignis is native to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and grows primarily in wet tropical conditions. Calathea lancifolia and Calathea insignis are older names still connected with the rattlesnake plant in horticulture.
Botanical and horticultural descriptions note its clump-forming habit, wavy lance-shaped leaves, dark patches beside the midrib, and deep purple undersides. Small yellow flowers can appear on short spikes above mature clumps.
Goeppertia insignis is listed within the Calathea group as non-toxic to cats and dogs. Pets that like chewing leaves may still get mild stomach irritation, so keep the plant out of their usual reach.
Goeppertia belongs to Marantaceae, and its genus name honours Johann Heinrich Robert Göppert. The species epithet insignis means conspicuous, distinguished, or remarkable. The synonym Calathea lancifolia refers to the lance-shaped leaves.
Goeppertia insignis has the classic rattlesnake pattern: narrow wavy leaves, dark oval markings, purple undersides and a clump that fills out over time.
Plant names, growth habits, natural habitats and indoor care guidance are checked against trusted botanical, habitat and horticultural references before publication.View our plant care resources and references.