Leptochiton (plant)

This article is about the genus of plants Leptochiton Sealy. For the genus of polyplacophoran molluscs, see Leptochiton (chiton).

Leptochiton Temporal range: 24.46 –0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Oligocene – Recent [1]
Leptochiton quitoensis [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily:	Amaryllidoideae
Tribe:	Hymenocallideae
Genus:	Leptochiton Sealy
Type species
Leptochiton quitoensis (Herb.) Sealy [3]
Leptochiton is native to Ecuador and Peru [4]
Synonyms [5]
Lepidochiton Meerow, orth. var.

Leptochiton is a genus of South American plants in the family Amaryllidaceae ^{[6] [7]} native to Ecuador and Peru. ^[4]

Description

Leptochiton quitoensis (Herb.) Sealy bulb with scale bar (3 cm)

Generative characteristics

Leptochiton has phytomelanous seeds, which is unique among the tribe Hymenocallideae. ^[8]

Cytology

The diploid chromosome count is 2n = 24 or 2n = 34. ^[8]

Taxonomy

It was published by Joseph Robert Sealy in 1937 with Leptochiton quitoensis(Herb.) Sealy as the type species. ^[3] It is placed in the tribe Hymenocallideae. ^[5]

Species

There are 2 known species, native to Ecuador and Peru: ^[9]

• Leptochiton helianthus (Ravenna) Gereau & Meerow - Peru (Cajamarca)
• Leptochiton quitoensis (Herb.) Sealy - Ecuador (Guayas, Loja), Peru

Etymology

The generic name Leptochiton is derived from the Greek leptos meaning thin, delicate, small, or slender, and chiton meaning covering or tunic. It refers to the thin testa. ^[10]

Phylogeny

It is closely related to Ismene , to which it shared a common ancestor 26.14 million years ago. It is the sister group to Hymenocallis , from which it separated 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 Baker, John Gilbert. 1878. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 104: plate 6397, as Ismene tenuifolia
3. Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.-y). Leptochiton Sealy. Tropicos. Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://www.tropicos.org/name/40004857
4. "Leptochiton Sealy". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 30 July 2023.
5. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomygenus?id=6708. Accessed 2 March 2025.
6. Sealy, Joseph Robert. 1937. Botanical Magazine 160: plate 9491
7. 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.
8. Meerow, A. W., Guy, C. L., Li, Q. B., & Yang, S. L. (2000). "Phylogeny of the American Amaryllidaceae based on nrDNA ITS sequences." Systematic Botany, 708-726.
9. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
10. Quattrocchi, U. (2023). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. p. 1467. USA: CRC Press.