Vellozia glandulifera Goethart & Henrard

Vellozia glandulifera Goethart & Henrard

Vellozia glandulifera Goethart & Henrard, Blumea, 2:372, 1937.—Ayensu, Smithsonian Contr. Bot., 15:24, fig. 2c, pls. lc,d, 36f, 1974.

Vellozia bicolor L. B. Smith, Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb., 35:287, pl. 11: figs. 43–45, 1962.—Ayensu, Smithsonian Contr. Bot., 15:13, fig. 2a, pl. 42a, 1974 [type: on rocky sandy soil, summit of Serra do Cipó, road from Hotel Chapeu do Sol between km 111 and 120, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1200 m alt., 6 August 1960, Maguire, Magalhães & Maguire 49037 (NY, US)].

Vellozia mollis L. B. Smith, Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb., 35:287, pl. 11: figs. 46–48, 1962 [type: on sandstone outcrop, ca. 3–5 km east of Serra, along road from Conceição to Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 9 August 1960, Maguire, Magalhães & Maguire 49156 (NY, US)].

Vellozia vestita L. B. Smith, Phytologia, 8:511, figs. 8, 9, 1963 [type: without locality, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1892, Glaziou 19935 (K, type)].

TYPE.—Cachoeira, [Minas Gerais], Brazil, Langsdorff in herb. Fischer 1418 (LE, holotype; K, isotype?).

DISTRIBUTION.—Brazil: Minas Gerais: Cachoeira, Diamantina, Jaboticatubas, Sêrro.

Vellozia glandulifera Goethart & Henrard

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—L. B. Smith and Ayensu 15998.

SURFACE VIEW.—Hairs: multiseriate, present on adaxial surface in clumps, consisting of small fingerlike projections; abaxial surface hairs long and fairly thin. Epidermis: adaxial cells mostly square; thin walled. Abaxial cells square to rectangular, few almost rounded; thin walled. Stomata: paracytic, 24 × 15 μm; present on abaxial surface, few on adaxial surface.

TRANSVERSE SECTION OF LAMINA.—Dorsiventral; V-shaped with small median adaxial groove; turned slightly inversely at margins. Very slightly undulating on adaxial surface; abaxial surface furrowed one-half thickness of blade. Epidermis: adaxial cells square; abaxial cells slightly rounded. Walls thin on abaxial and adaxial surfaces. Two to three layers of parenchyma cells subjacent to adaxial epidermis and interspersed with sclerenchyma strands. Below is a layer of parenchyma cells. Cuticle: very thin and slightly ridged on both surfaces. Stomata: present in abaxial furrows in association with fingerlike projections. Mesophyll: three to four layers palisade tissue changing abruptly into compact spongy tissue. Three to four layers of large translucent palisade cells radially arranged above vascular bundles and furrows. Vascular bundles: 22; commissural bundles not observed. One to three large vessels present in each vascular bundle. Two phloem units laterally arranged in flanges of Y-shaped abaxial girder. Adaxial cap present on each vascular bundle. Bundle sheath completely surrounding each vascular bundle. Some abaxial sclerenchyma strands present at entrances of furrows. Crystals: none observed. Tannins: present.

Vellozia bicolor L. B. Smith

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—Maguire et al. 49047.

SURFACE VIEW.—Hairs: long and narrow, mostly unicellular but bicellular ones observed. Present on abaxial surface only. Epidermis: adaxial cells uniformly rectangular; abaxial cells even more rectangular, thin walled. Stomata: mainly paracytic, few tetracytic, 24 × 18 μm; observed on abaxial surface only.

TRANSVERSE SECTION OF LAMINA.—Dorsiventral; V-shaped with median adaxial groove. Adaxial surface unevenly undulating; abaxial surface furrowed, about one-fourth thickness of blade. Epidermis: adaxial and abaxial cells more or less rectangularly flattened, especially of adaxial cells, walls uniformly thin walled. Discrete strands of fibers occur subjacent to adaxial epidermis, often two strands opposite each adaxial furrow, occasionally three strands observed. Directly below fiber strands and subepidermal cells is a layer of large somewhat translucent parenchyma cells separating epidermal and subepidermal cells from rest of mesophyll. Cuticle: distinctly thickened on both surfaces. Stomata: confined to furrows, almost flush with epidermis. Mesophyll: adaxial palisade three to four layered, occupying about half of mesophyll, and abruptly changing into spongy tissue; two layers of palisade cells arranged radially above vascular bundles distinctly translucent and large; rest of palisade cells compactly arranged and filled with chloroplast. Vascular bundles: 46; commissural bundles few. Large veins each with one to three wide vessels, mostly one. Two phloem units lying laterally in flanges of abaxial Y-shaped girder. Each vascular bundle always accompanied by adaxial inverted V-shaped sclerenchyma cap, both in turn completely surrounded by a distinct bundle sheath. Crystals: rhomboidal, square, and diamond-shaped present in subepidermal cells. Tannin: not observed.

NOTE: The almost woolly-like hairs and the adaxial fiber strands subjacent to the epidermis are very distinctive to this species.