Rattlesnake plant vs Calathea orbifolia

Goeppertia lancifolia · Goeppertia orbifolia

Rattlesnake plant and Calathea orbifolia are close on every field we record, so choose on looks or price.

Why these two get mixed up

Both are Goeppertia, so they arrive on the same shelf under near-identical labels and are routinely swapped in the trade.

Rattlesnake plant (Goeppertia lancifolia) — **Rattlesnake plant** — Goeppertia lancifolia. Photograph by Cary Bass (now Bass-Deschênes), Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

Calathea orbifolia (Goeppertia orbifolia) — **Calathea orbifolia** — Goeppertia orbifolia. Photograph by Photo by David J. Stang, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 4.0.

	Rattlesnake plant	Calathea orbifolia
Scientific name	Goeppertia lancifolia	Goeppertia orbifolia
Family	Marantaceae	Marantaceae
Light floor	Low	Low
Water	4–8 days	4–8 days
Humidity floor	50%	55%
Mature height	18–30 in	18–36 in
Habit	clumping	clumping
Growth rate	moderate	moderate
Difficulty	Moderate	Demanding
Toxic to pets	No	No
Typical price	$15–45	$20–60

Highlighted cells are where the two actually differ. Everything else they share.

The differences that matter

On every field we record these two are close. Choose on looks, price or whichever the shop has — the care will be much the same.

Which should you buy?

In a dim room, take either — both have a low light floor.
If you forget to water, take either.
If it is your first plant, take Rattlesnake plant, at 3 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Rattlesnake plant, which stops around 30 inches.

Full entries

Rattlesnake plant — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Calathea orbifolia — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Goeppertia lancifolia and Goeppertia orbifolia — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Goeppertia lancifolia and Goeppertia orbifolia
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxicity classification for both, cited on each species entry
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, individually credited and licensed above

Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-12
Every comparison above is drawn from a recorded field. Where the honest distinguisher is visual we show both photographs rather than describing a leaf we have no field for. How this is sourced.