Wolffiella lingulata (Hegelm)

Freitas, Rafaelle Neves, Silva, Maria Francilene Souza, Paiva, Jousimar Silva, Mayo, Simon Joseph & de Andrade, Ivanilza Moreira, 2017, Taxonomic survey of the Araceae Juss. in the coastal region of Piauí state, northeast Brazil, including the Rio Parnaíba Delta, Iheringia, Série Botânica 72 (3), pp. 341-350 : 349

7. Wolffiella lingulata (Hegelm) . Hegelm., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 21(3): 303–304. 1895.

( Figs. 3 F-H, 4C)

Minute, free-floating aquatic plant, 3-5 mm tall, stemless, roots absent. Fronds free, 2.1-4.0 × 1.2-3 mm, solitary or with two fronds joined together (rarely three), longer than wide, tongue-shaped, membranous, delicate, glabrous, shiny medium green on upper and lower sides, concave on upper side with raised lateral margins, entire, with or without stomata, the younger arising two thirds from the base of the older one, air spaces present from the base up to half or two thirds of the frond length, a sequence of elongated cells present between the midline and the edge of the vegetative cavity wall, apex rounded, sometimes narrower than the base, base slightly truncate, epidermis uniseriate with cells containing chloroplasts. Flowers and fruits not seen.

Selected material: Parnaíba : Braço do Rio Igaraçu, 30.XI.2011, Freitas 37 ( HDELTA) .

Comments: Wolffiella lingulata forms communities with Lemna spp. It is primarily associated with the roots of aquatic macrophytes. This species was found along the banks of a polluted stream near a slaughterhouse, along with Pistia stratiotes and Eichhornia crassipes .

This species occurs in tropical and subtropical America ( WCSP 2015). In Brazil, it occurs in the Northeast (Bahia), and Midwest (Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso) ( Coelho et al. 2015).

Figures

Figs. 3A-J. Araceae from the coastal region of Piauí. A-C. Spathicarpa gardneri Schott. A. Habit; B. Inflorescence; C. Detail of male (left) and female (right) flowers: D, E. Taccarum ulei Engl. & K. Krause. D. Habit, showing single leaf and inflorescence; E. Inflorescence; F-H. Wolffiella lingulata (Hegelm). Hegelm. F. Habit, side view of plant with two united fronds; G. Morphological variation of two-fronded plants; H. Plant with two fronds, seen from above; I, J. Wolffiella oblonga (Phil.) Hegelm. I. Plant with three united fronds seen from above; J. Habit in relation to the water surface, side view of three-fronded plant.