Stenomesson and Clinanthus

Why Clinanthus?

The consensus of phylogenetic analysis of multiple DNA sequences from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes is that Stenomesson as originally circumscribed is polyphyletic, i.e., of mutiple ancestry. The petiolate to sub-petiolate species of Stenomesson (e.g., S. aurantiacum, S. latifolium, S. miniatum) are part of a distinct petiolate-leafed clade of Andean Amaryllidaceae that includes Eucharis, Eucrosia, Phaedranassa and Rauhia (tribe Stenomesseae), while the lorate or linear-leafed Stenomesson are part of a clade (along with Pamianthe and Paramongaia) that is the sister group to Hymenocallis, Ismene and Leptochiton (tribe Hymenocallideae). Since the type for the name Stenomesson is one of the petiolate-leafed species, the next valid name with priority for the lorate group is Clinanthus, and the tribe within which they resolve phylogenetically is the Clinantheae.

Alan Meerow