Notes on leaf micromorphology of the rare herbaceous bamboo Buergersiochloa bambusoides Pilg. (Olyreae, Poaceae) from New Guinea and its taxonomic implications

Abstract

We present notes on the leaf micromorphology of Buergersiochloa bambusoides, a rare species from New Guinea and included in Buergersiochloinae, one of three subtribes of the herbaceous bamboos (tribe Olyreae). We used scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy to analyze the microcharacters of both adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. Within the Olyreae, saddle-shaped silica bodies in both the costal and intercostal zones are considered unique to Buergersiochloinae. Simple, circular and very small papillae are observed on the adaxial surface, and for the first time, branched papillae on the abaxial surface are observed in B. bambusoides. On the abaxial surface, there are papillae on long cells associated with the stomatal complexes. Bicellular microhairs are the only trichomes present and they are found almost exclusively on the abaxial surface. The saddle-shaped silica bodies are the most taxonomically important among the microcharacters observed on the leaf surface of B. bambusoides.