Vellozia giuliettiae N.L.Menezes & Mello-Silva, 2014

Mello-Silva, Renato & Menezes, Nanuza Luiza De, 2014, Velloziaceae in honorem appellatae, Phytotaxa 175 (2), pp. 85-96 : 87-89

Vellozia giuliettiae N.L.Menezes & Mello-Silva , sp. nov. ( Figs. 2 , 5B )

Vellozia giuliettiae is close to V. abietina but differs from it by the subdensely setose leaf lamina with glabrous sheath and the geniculate internal stamens.

Type:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Diamantina, estrada Diamantina - Conselheiro Mata , 12 km de Diamantina, 30 August 1981 (fl, fr), Giulietti, Menezes, Semir, Giulietti & Mattos CFCR1781 (holotype SPF!, isotypes, K!, NY, RB!, SP!) .

Caespitose, ericoid herbs, 3–22 cm tall. Stem few- to much-branched, 2–4 mm diam. at base and 1–2 mm diam. at apex. Leaves spirotristichous, straight, sheaths orange-brown, stramineous at apex, glabrous, margins entire, lamina 4.0–10.0 × 0.5 mm, linear-triangular, conduplicate and semiterete at distal third or fourth when dry, mucronate, abaxial side setose, adaxial glabrous, soon deciduous, the margins ciliate. Flowers solitary; peduncles ca. 1.5 mm long, trigonous, ribbed, glabrous; hypanthium 2–4 mm long, 2–3 mm diam. at apex, campanulate, trigonous, 12- ribed, glabrous. Tepals 1.00–1.50 × 0.03–0.06 cm, elliptic-spatulate, violet, glabrous. Stamens 6, the internal stamens geniculate at base, filaments of external stamens ca. 4 mm long, of internal stamens ca. 3 mm long, anthers ca. 1.5 mm long; staminal appendages alate; style 5–10 mm long, stigma 0.5–1 mm diam., trilobate. Capsule 2–6 mm long, 3–5 mm diam. at apex, campanulate, 12-ribed, stramineous, glabrous, dehiscent by apical large slits on the loculi. Seeds ca. 0.7 mm long, black, ruminate.

Leaf anatomy:— Blade dorsiventral. Cuticle slightly thickened on both surfaces. Furrows absent. Stomata on both surfaces. Epidermis uniseriate. Uniseriate hypodermis present on both surfaces. Mesophyll almost uniform, with a inconspicuous 3–4 cell-layers palisade mesophyll adaxially merging with lacunar mesophyll. Fibro-vascular bundles surrounded by a distinct endodermis. Vessels 1(–2) large, present in each fibro-vascular bundle. Phloem strands 2, Vshaped, separated beneath the xylem by parenchyma. Fibres extending as girders, adaxially to the palisade mesophyll and abaxially to hypodermis. Strands of subepidermal sclerified cells absent (all based on Menezes 1207).

Habitat:— In sandy soil among rocky (quartzite) outcrops.

Distribution:— Diamantina Plateau , central Minas Gerais State, forming large populations.

Etymology:— Vellozia giuliettiae is named after Ana Maria Giulietti Harley, a former professor at Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, and a Brazilian botanical leader. Together with Nanuza Menezes , they initiated and supported the study of the campos rupestres vegetation with which Velloziaceae are always associated. She has produced many students, including one of the co-authors (RMS).

Observations:— Vellozia giuliettiae is one of the smallest species of Vellozia so far described, sometimes forming massive localized populations together with V. semirii . Distinctive features are the setose, mucronate leaf laminas, geniculate internal stamens, alate staminal appendages and many-ribbed, campanulate capsules. It has been collected with flowers and fruits both in the hot, rainy season, January and February, and in the cold, dry season, July to September. The illustration of V. giuliettiae ( Fig. 2 ) by Rogério Lupo received the 2010 Margaret Flockton Award from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia (RBG Sydney 2010).

Other specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Diamantina, estrada para Conselheiro Mata, 29 km da rodovia Curvelo–Diamantina , 4 November 1993 (st), Benko-Iseppon 361 ( SPF) ; estrada para Conselheiro Mata ( MG 220 ) , 38,4 km da saída de Diamantina e 29,4 km da rodovia Diamantina – Datas ( BR 367 ) , 31 January 2000 (fl, fr), Mello-Silva & Forzza 1766 ( G, M, RB, SPF, UB, US) ; estrada Diamantina–Conselheiro Mata , depois das pedras gigantescas, na beira da estrada, 1 February 1998 (fr), Menezes , Melo , Pita , Vitirti , Yoshitake , Kitakawa & Pinna 1378 ( SPF) ; Gouveia , Fazenda Contagem , em cultivo no Departamento de Botânica da Universidade de São Paulo , 14 August 1984 (fl), Menezes 1207 ( SPF) ; Fazenda Contagem , s.d. (fl, fr), Menezes , Cavalcanti & Gonçalves CFCR10323 a ( CTES, K, SPF) ; afloramento em frente à usina eólica Morro do Camelinho , outro lado da estrada, 8 July 2006 (fl, fr), Soares , Marino & Oliveira 45 ( BHCB, SPF) ; Contagem , às margens do córrego Contagem , nos sopés da extremidade norte da Serra do Indaial , fazenda de Júlio Caetano Rodrigues (vulgo Júlio Barbalho ), ao lado sul da Fazenda Contagem, 31 January 2000 (fr), Mello-Silva & Forzza 1774 ( B, BHCB, F, HUEFS, L, MO, SPF, US) ; Fazenda Galheiros , de Júlio Caetano Rodrigues (vulgo Júlio Barbalho ), sopés da extremidade norte da Serra do Indaial , base de inselberg próximo ao Ribeirão da Contagem , 7 February 2009 (fl, fr), Mello-Silva & Sajo 3167 ( MBM, SPF) ; Contagem , estrada vicinal do Morro do Camelinho até mineradora de rochas, 2,9 km a partir da rodovia Curvelo- Gouveia ( BR 259 ) , 18°35’53.8’’S 43°52’24.1’’W, elev. 1003 m, 11 January 2014 (fl, fr), Mello-Silva, Lovo & Cota 3647 ( SPF) . Serro: estrada Datas - Serro, Km 419, cabeceiras do rio Jequitinhonha , ca. 35 km de Datas , 6 September 1989 (fl, fr), Menezes & Souza CFCR12289 ( SPF) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Vellozia giuliettiae. A. Detail of a plants in nature. B. Habit with flowers and fruits. C. Leaf, abaxial view. D. Leaf, adaxial view. E. Flower, lateral view. F. One bract, abaxial view. G. Flower, front view. H. Detail of androecium, style and stigma. I. Flower, longitudinal section, showing hypanthium, placentation, androecium, gynoecium, and basal portion of perianth. H. Two petals lateral to one sepal, showing stamens and staminal appendages. Drawn from Mello-Silva 1774 by Rogério Lupo.

FIGURE 5. Transversal section of leaf lamina. A. Vellozia everaldoi (Menezes 1001). B. Vellozia giuliettiae (Menezes 1207). C. Vellozia semirii (Mello-Silva 1769). D. Vellozia strangii (Mello-Silva 2492). Scale bars = 200 µm. AP = aquiferous parenchyma. En = endodermis. Hy = hypodermis. PC = passage cells. PF = pericyclic fibres. Ph = phloem. TT = transfusion tracheids.