Figures 1-7. See caption on next page. Figure 8. African distribution of Dioscorea section Lasiophyton (light brown circles) and its possible sister species, the Malagasy Dioscorea antaly (salmon circles). The dagger denotes the location of the Guang River flora. Distribution data from Burkill (1939), Humbert (1950), Milne-Redhead (1975), Miege & Demissew (1997), Wilkin (1999) and Wilkin (2001). Table 1. Dioscorea section Lasiophyton and D. antaly epidermal characteristics branches becoming brochidodromous near the lobe apices (Fig. 11). Lobe secondary and intersecondary veins arise at angles of between 65 and 85° from the primary veins and have excurrent attachment (Fig. 11). CUTICLE: Cells on the abaxial surface are 8-23 um in length and 4-12um in width, have straight to rounded anticlinal cell walls and are four- to seven-sided (Fig. 12). Axillocytic stomatal complexes (Fig. 12) are present and common. Other stomatal complex types, including anomocytic and possibly anomotetracytic, are also present. Stomata are round to oval, ranging from 9 to 11 um in length and 8 to 9 um in width (Fig. 12). The adaxial cuticle was not available for observation.
