Leptochiton is a genus of South American plants in the family AmaryllidaceaeSealy, Joseph Robert. 1937. Botanical Magazine 160: plate 9491Jørgensen, 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. native to Ecuador and Peru.
Description
Generative characteristics Leptochiton has phytomelanous seeds, which is unique among the tribe Hymenocallideae. Cytology The diploid chromosome count is 2n = 24 or 2n = 34.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.
Taxonomy It was published by Joseph Robert Sealy in 1937 with Leptochiton quitoensis as the type species. It is placed in the tribe Hymenocallideae.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. Species There are 2 known species, native to Ecuador and Peru:Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 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.Quattrocchi, U. (2023). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. p. 1467. USA: CRC Press.
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.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.
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