Lecythis pisonis, Cambessedes, 1829

Huang, Ya-Yi, Mori, Scott A. & Kelly, Lawrence M., 2015, Toward a phylogenetic-based Generic Classification of Neotropical Lecythidaceae- I. Status of Bertholletia, Corythophora, Eschweilera and Lecythis, Phytotaxa 203 (2), pp. 85-121 : 95

Lecythis pisonis clade (100% BS; Figs. 2A, 4)

This clade comprises all four species of Lecythis section Pisonis recognized by Mori & Prance (1981) and Mori (1990b) and several other species that were included in synonymy by these authors but represent distinct species that have not yet been resurrected (Mori, unpubl. data). The species of this clade are found throughout lowland rainforests in Central and South America but at low densities. Morphological synapomorphies include the presence of a bluishgreen color caused by the oxidation of wounded tissue (character 2), an annular expansion below the apex of the style (character 38; Fig. 4C), and sulcate seeds (character 43; Fig. 4G). The sulcate seeds are unique to this clade. In addition to these features, the bark is deeply fissured and laminated and the fruits ( Fig. 4F) are larger than found in any group of Lecythidaceae . The monophyly of Section Pisonis found in this study is congruent with previous studies ( Mori, 1990b; Mori et al., 2007; Huang et al., 2011). Although the monophyly of the Lecythis pisonis clade is strongly supported, species circumscriptions within the clade are problematic, especially for L. pisonis as circumscribed by Mori (1990b).