PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH. 103(2), 1990, pp. 464-498 STUDIES IN THE LEPIDAPLOA COMPLEX (VERNONIEAE: ASTERACEAE) VII. THE GENUS LEPIDAPLOA Harold Robinson Abstract. —The Neotropical Vernonian genus Lepidaploa is recharacterized, nomenclaturally clarified, and its 116 species are listed. Lepidaploa has seriate-cymose inflorescences and lophate pollen surfaces of a type found in the related genera of the Lepidaploa Complex. Lepidaploa is distinct in the Complex by the sessile heads, the heads with 1.3-3.0 times as many involucral bracts as flowers, nodular style bases, sometimes glanduliferous achenes, and lack of glands on the anther appendages. Variations in exine patterns in Lepidaploa are compared with the three other genera of the Complex with rhizomatous crests, Echinocoryne, Stenocephalum and Chrysolaena, and the two genera with non-rhizomatous crests, Lessingianthus and Mattfeldanthus. New combina-tions are provided for 114 species, and two species, L. beckii and L. solomonii are described as new. The present paper concludes a series of papers aimed at the resolution of the Neo-tropical Lepidaploa group in the tribe Ver-nonieae. Previous papers in the series have dealt with the five closely related genera of the informally defined Lepidaploa Com-plex, Stenocephalum, Echinocoryne, Les-singianthus, Chrysolaena and Aynia (Rob-inson 1987a, b, 1988a, b, c) that differ from Vernonia s. str. by having consistently lo-phate pollen, and with two less closely re-lated genera, Cyrtocymura and Eirmoceph-ala (Robinson 1987c), that usually have true scorpioid cymes. The remaining genus Lep-idaploa of the Lepidaploa Complex having lophate pollen is treated in the present pa-per. Lepidaploa was named originally by Cas-sini (181 7b) as a subgenus of Vernonia with brief comments on distinctions from the other two subgenera accepted at that time. Six species were mentioned in association with the subgenus, Vernonia glauca, V. fas-ciculata, V. arborescens, V. divaricata, V. scorpioides and V. albicaulis, in that order. The genus was treated more fully five years after the original description (Cassini 1823), but was still referred to as a subgenus. Ge-neric status of Lepidaploa is sometimes er-roneously dated from the 1823 treatment (Gleason 1906:174) because of the combi-nations under Lepidaploa included in that treatment. Lepidaploa was not given generic status until it was listed in a series of genera by Cassini (1825) in his treatment of the genus Oliganthes. The latter listing men-tioned no included species. The proper characterization of Lepida-ploa dates from the treatment of the sub-genus by Cassini in 1823. The subgenus was given the alternative French name Lepi-daple, and was described as having invo-lucral bracts "regulierement imbriquees, appliquees, subcoriaces, lanceolees, acu-minees et presque spinescentes au sommet; les interieures etrecies de bas en haut, ter-minees en pointe, nuUement elargies, ar-rondies, ni colorees au sommet." Cassini (1823) clearly distinguished his subgenus from typical Vernonia by the lack of a sub-ulate appendage and lack of coloration on the bracts of the involucre. The lack of bract
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