Ismene (plant)

Ismene Temporal range: 26.14 –0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Oligocene – Recent [1]
Ismene narcissiflora [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Amaryllidoideae
Genus:	Ismene Salisb. ex Herb. [3] [4]
Type species
Ismene amancaes (Ruiz & Pav.) Herb. [5]
Synonyms [6]
LiriopeHerb., nom. illeg. ElisenaHerb. PseudostenomessonVelarde

Ismene, or Peruvian daffodil, is a genus of South American plants in the Amaryllis family. ^[7] The species are native to Peru and Ecuador and widely cultivated elsewhere as ornamentals because of their large, showy flowers. ^{[8] [9]}

Ismene produces tender perennial bulbs bearing a strong resemblance to those of Hymenocallis , a genus into which Ismene had often been grouped in the past. However, its morphology differs from Hymenocallis in several significant ways: its vegetative parts, natural range, and chromosome number are all distinct.

Taxonomy

The genus IsmeneSalisb. ex Herb. was validly described in 1821 by William Herbert with Ismene amancaes (Ruiz & Pav.) Herb. as the type species based on previous work by Richard Anthony Salisbury. ^[5]

Species

A list of Ismene species and their geographic distribution is given below. ^[6]

• Ismene amancaes (Ruiz & Pav.) Herb – western Peru
• Ismene hawkesii (Vargas) Gereau & Meerow – Cusco, Peru
• Ismene longipetala (Lindl.) Meerow – southwestern Ecuador, northwestern Peru
• Ismene morrisonii (Vargas) Gereau & Meerow – Apurímac, Peru
• Ismene narcissiflora (Jacq.) M.Roem. – south-central Peru
• Ismene nutans (Ker Gawl.) Herb. – Peru
• Ismene pedunculata Herb. – Peru
• Ismene ringens (Ruiz & Pav.) Gereau & Meerow – Peru
• Ismene sublimis (Herb.) Gereau & Meerow – La Libertad, Peru
• Ismene vargasii (Velarde) Gereau & Meerow – Peru

Hybrids

• Ismene × deflexa Herb. (I. longipetala × I. narcissiflora) – Peru

Phylogeny

It is closely related to Leptochiton and Hymenocallis , from which it separated 26.14 million years ago. The separation of Leptochiton and Hymenocallis occurred 24.46 million years ago. ^[1]

Hymenocallideae	Hymenocallis Leptochiton Ismene

References

1. Meerow, A. W., Gardner, E. M., & Nakamura, K. (2020). "Phylogenomics of the Andean tetraploid clade of the American Amaryllidaceae (subfamily Amaryllidoideae): unlocking a polyploid generic radiation abetted by continental geodynamics." Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, 582422.
2. illustration from Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe by Charles Lemaire and others. Gand [Gent], Louis van Houtte, 1849, volume 5, plate 440
3. "Ismene Salisb. ex Herb". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
4. "Ismene Salisb. ex Herb". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000. n.d. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
5. Ismene Salisb. ex Herb. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved February 7, 2026, from https://www.ipni.org/n/326504-2
6. "Ismene". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2017-10-08.
7. Herbert, William 1821. An Appendix: [General index to the Botanical magazine, vol. 43-48 containing a treatise on bulbous roots] page 45
8. Jørgensen, P. M., M. H. Nee & S. G. Beck. (eds.) 2014. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de Bolivia, Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 127(1–2): i–viii, 1–1744.
9. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. (eds.) 1993. Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 45: i–xl, 1–1286.

External links

• International Bulb Society's gallery of photographs