3.2 Leaf surface anatomy
Leaf surface sculpturing was strikingly variable (Figs. 3–6 ;Table 2 ). In C. multicava and C. ovata , leaf
surfaces were glabrous, with white mineral crusts or salt deposits
associated with the hydathodes, whereas in C. perforata they were
glabrous yet with large conical trichomes along the margins. C.
deceptor , C. fragarioides and C. plegmatoides had
papillate leaf surfaces, while C. sericea had long, subulate
trichomes. The most spectacular indumenta were those of C.
ausensis and C. tecta , with clavate trichomes and large
bladder-cell idioblasts respectively. In some species, the indumentum
showed patterning, with clustering of papillae/trichomes/idioblasts, as
in C. fragarioides , C. ausensis and C. tecta .
Besides the indumentum, in some species the leaf surface was
hierarchically sculptured: a series of tubercles (i.e. surface
protuberances) and depressions were present in C. ausensis ,C. deceptor and C. tecta . In C. ausensis andC. tecta , these tubercles coincided with the sites of
trichome/idioblast clustering. In the case of C. tecta , the
tubercles were in turn arranged in bands along the length of the leaf,
thus forming regular ridges and grooves. Epicuticular waxes
(Fig. 5 ) were particularly prominent in C. ovata , in
which they formed cracked crusts, in C. plegmatoides , in which
they formed tubules on top of the papillae, and in C. deceptor ,
in which they formed a flaky cover over the papillae. It is worth noting
that the tips of the tubercles in C. deceptor were mostly free of
these waxes (Figs. 4G, 5G ).