Two new species of Velloziaceae, Vellozia auriculata and V gigantea, from Espinhago Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil, are described. Both are characterized by a large dracenoid habit. Vellozia auriculata has large tepal appendages and is endemic to the Ambr6sio Range, northeast of the Diamantina plateau. It reproduces in an unusual way, with conspicuous vegetative propagation by lodging branches. Vellozia gigantea may attain a height of up to 6 m, being the largest species of Vellozia so far described. Its one known population is located within the limits of the National Park of Serra do Cip6. Morphological and anatomical descriptions as well as illustrations of both species are presented. Comments are made on their geographic distribution and putative taxonomic relationships. A key to the accepted species with dracenoid habit related to Vellozia auriculata and V. gigantea, and comments on the delimitation of this group are also presented. Since the revision by Smith and Ayensu (1976), many additional Brazilian Velloziaceae have been described (Smith & Ayensu, 1979, 1980; Smith, 1985, 1986; Mello-Silva & Menezes, 1988; MelloSilva, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997; Menezes & Semir, 1991). This suggests that there are still a large number of undescribed species. Factors that support this conclusion are the restricted distribution of most of the species as well as the difficult access to wide areas of the Espinhago Range in central Brazil, where the family reaches maximum diversity. The two species herein described are spectacular, both in terms of their morphology and their geographical distribution, constituting examples of the richness and uniqueness of the flora of the Brazilian campos rupestres (for maps, see Mello-Silva, 1994: 273, and Mello-Silva & Pirani, 1994: 149). Vellozia auriculata and V gigantea can be included in the group of Vellozia species with dracenoid habits, reaching more than 2 m high. Other dracenoid members of this group are V compacta Martius ex Schultes & Schultes f., V glabra J. C. Mikan, V piresiana L. B. Smith, and V spiralis L. B. Smith (Mello-Silva, 1995). Their stems are t ickened at the base with leaves apically concentrated and soon deciduous, leaving persistent leaf sheaths. The flowers are long-pedicellate with violet tepal , numerous stamens (at least 18), and conspicuous staminal appendages, and the capsules have apical dehiscence. In addition, the anatomical structure of the leaf lamina is quite characteristic of the group, presenting an aquiferous hypodermis extending adaxially to bundle sheaths and furrows, as well as fibro-vascular bundles with two phloem strands. For phylogenetic interpretation of these external and anatomical characters, see Menezes et al. (1994) and Mello-Silva (in press). KEY TO THE ACCEPTED SPECIES OF THE DRACENOID