Research Article Micromorphological Studies of the Loranthaceae, Phragmanthera capitata (Sprengel) Balle Franklin Uangbaoje Ohikhena, Olubunmi Abosede Wintola, and Anthony Jide Afolayan Medicinal Plants and Economic Development (MPED) Research Center, Botany Department, University of Fort Hare, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa Correspondence should be addressed to Anthony Jide Afolayan; aafolayan@uf.ac.za Received 27 October 2016; Accepted 20 December 2016; Published 23 February 2017 Academic Editor: William K. Smith Copyright © 2017 Franklin Uangbaoje Ohikhena et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Phragmanthera capitata (Sprengel) Balle is a mistletoe of the Loranthaceae family that has been explored for its therapeutic properties in folklore for ages. However, there had been an alarming increase in misidentifcation of species in this family. Tis may be due in part to the lack of species taxonomic information. Hence, this study wishes to highlight the range of micromorphological features which could complement the information database of this species. Scanning electron, light, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microscopies were used for this study. Te result revealed a paracytic type of stomata with mean abaxial and adaxial density of 225.42 ± 3.67 mm 2 and 137.21 ± 5.65 mm 2 , respectively, and mean guard cell length of 26.45 ± 0.02 m. Oval-shaped lenticels with a mean length of 34.29 ± 0.26 m were observed. Tey were arranged in parallel on the epidermal cells of the abaxial midrib. Densely packed stellate trichomes were revealed on the abaxial epidermis with a density of 63.32 ± 3.70 mm 2 . Tracheary elements, which are tightly packed with granules believed to be proteins, were observed in the cross sections of the twig. Deposits chiefy composed of silicon, aluminium, potassium, and iron were recorded in the EDX analysis. Tis study revealed detailed descriptive micromorphological structures which could serve as a source of information and reference for the taxonomic description of P. capitata. 1. Introduction Loranthaceae which is the most distributed family of the group of parasitic plants called mistletoe has been plagued with alarming rates of misidentifcation at the generic and specifc levels [1]. Tis had led to misinformation and misin- terpreting by taxonomists and medicinal plants researchers. Misidentifcation could be as a result of insufcient informa- tion on taxonomic characters and overlapping or superimpo- sition of delimitation characters either between the genera or amongst species which is as a result of visible similarities and habits [1]. Anatomical and micromorphological characteristics of leaves, stems, and roots have played important roles in plant taxonomy, especially at the generic and specifc levels. Studies in this feld have attracted the attention of plant morphol- ogists and systematists to resolve taxonomic conficts in diferent groups of plants [2]. Te foliar epidermal structure has been one of the most important taxonomic characters in biosystematics and most taxonomic studies are based on the studies of the leaf epidermis. In ultra-structures such as epidermal cells, stomata, and trichomes, their sizes, lengths, distribution, orientation, and frequency are of signifcant importance in taxonomy as well as phylogeny [3]. Secondary metabolites produced by plants are believed to be stored in various organs including the leaves, stems, and roots. Te epidermis of most plants also contains hairs which are functionally classifed as glandular or nonglandular trichomes. Glandular trichomes are specialised secretory structures that vary in size, form, location, and function in diferent plant species [4]. Stomata, glandular trichomes, and nonglandular trichomes that are secretory structures are of scientifc interest due to their functional attributes and economic importance in the production/secretion of Hindawi Journal of Botany Volume 2017, Article ID 5603140, 9 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/5603140