Two new species of endemic Ecuadorean Amaryllidaceae (Asparagales, Amaryllidaceae, Amarylloideae, Eucharideae)

Abstract

New species of the genera Stenomesson and Eucharis (Amaryllidaceae) are described from Ecuador. Stenomesson ecuadorense is the second species of the genus reported from that country, and the only endemic one. It is related to Stenomesson miniatum and Stenomesson campanulatum, both from Peru, with which it shares orange flower color and the fusion of the staminal corona to the perianth tube. It differs from Stenomesson miniatum by the non-urceolate perianth, from Stenomesson campanulatum by its shorter stamens and longer perianth, and from both by its lower montane, cloud forest habitat. Eucharis ruthiana, found in the vicinity of Zamora, is related to Eucharis moorei from which it differs by the narrower leaves and tepals; short, deeply cleft staminal corona; the long teeth on either side of the free filaments; the narrowly subulate, incurved free filaments; and the shorter style. The green mature fruit and campanulate floral morphology place it in Eucharis subg. Heterocharis.

Alkaloid Profiling and Anti-Cholinesterase Potential of Three Different Genera of Amaryllidaceae Collected in Ecuador: <em>Urceolina</em> Rchb., <em>Clinanthus</em> Herb., and <em>Stenomesson</em> Herb

“…previously reported in Ecuador [7]. These plants usually occur in seasonally dry, grassy vegetation or at the margins of cloud forests above 2000 m 2 elevation, but are also found in Peruvian inter-Andean valleys below 2000 m [8], and in the loma formations along the coast of this country, being all the petiolate-leafed Stenomesseae more closely related to Eucharideae than to the lorate leafed Stenomesseae [5,9]. The genus Clinanthus Herb.…”

“…Cultures worldwide have utilized Amaryllidaceae plants for centuries in traditional medicine, recognizing their pharmaceutical potential often linked to the production of specific alkaloids [4]. Ecuador is the major center of diversity in the tribe Eucharideae (Amaryllidaceae) [5], including the genus Urceolina Planch. This genus, known as Amazon lily, is mainly distributed in the western Amazon basin and the adjoining lower slopes of the eastern Andean cordillera [6].…”

Phytochemical characterization and biological activities of Stenomesson miniatum bulb extract, a medicinal plant of the Andes

“…and the ventricose perianth morphology [10]. S. miniatum is a bulbous perennial plant which grows spontaneously in the Andean regions of Bolivia and Peru above 2000 meters up to an altitude of 3500 meters [11]. In 1957 Boit and Döpke analyzed the alkaloid composition of three years old bulbs grown in Holland, reporting the identification of tazettine, haemanthamine and lycorine, and two other alkaloids which correspond to the chemical structures of albomaculine and nerinine [12].…”