George Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1870, in Volume 5 of Bentham's Flora Australiensis . [1] A substantial improvement on the previous arrangement, it would stand for over a century. It was eventually replaced by Alex George's 1981 arrangement, published in his classic monograph The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae) . [2]
Banksia is a genus of around 80 species in the plant family Proteaceae. An iconic Australian wildflower and popular garden plant, they are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones". They grow in forms varying from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 35 metres tall, and occur in all but the most arid areas of Australia. As heavy producers of nectar, they are important sources of food for nectariferous animals such as honeyeaters and honey possum, and they are of economic importance to the nursery and cut flower industries. However they are seriously threatened by a number of processes including land clearing, frequent burning, and disease, and a number of species are rare and endangered.
Specimens of Banksia were first collected by Sir Joseph Banks and Dr Daniel Solander, naturalists on HM Bark Endeavour during Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook's 1770 voyage to the Pacific Ocean. By the time of Bentham's arrangement, 60 species were recognised. The most recent taxonomic arrangement, which had stood since 1856, was that of Carl Meissner. Meissner's arrangement divided the genus into two sections, with B. ilicifolia placed alone in section Isostylis because of its unusual dome-shaped inflorescences, and all other species in section Eubanksia. The latter section was divided into four series, which were based on leaf properties and were highly heterogeneous. [3]
As Bentham never visited Australia, he only had access to preserved specimens. Thus he was unable to distinguish between some similar pairs of species, and so reduced the number of species to 46. He retained Isostylis, but replaced Meissner's four series by four sections based on leaf, style and pollen-presenter characters. Two of these, Oncostylis and Eubanksia, were reasonably well-defined and homogeneous; section Orthostylis was somewhat heterogeneous; section Cyrtostylis was erected to contain the species that did not belong in the other sections, and was therefore highly heterogeneous. [3]
George Bentham's 1870 taxonomic arrangement of Banksia may be summarised as follows:
Despite some shortcomings, Bentham's arrangement remained current for over a hundred years. It was only superseded in 1981, with the publication of Alex George's arrangement in his landmark monograph The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae) .
Many of the species that Bentham discarded have now been reinstated. Section Isostylis is now maintained at subgenus level as Banksia subg. Isostylis. Sections Oncostylis and Eubanksia are still maintained, but Eubanksia has been renamed Banksia sect. Banksia in accordance with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The other sections are no longer maintained.
Banksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata. Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.
As with other flowering plants, the taxonomy of Banksia has traditionally been based on anatomical and morphological properties of the Banksia flower, fruiting structure and seed, along with secondary characteristics such as leaf structure and growth habit. Increasingly, molecular evidence from DNA is providing important new insights into relationships within the genus and between this and other genera in the Proteaceae.
Banksia nutans, commonly known as nodding banksia, is a species of shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia in the genus Banksia. Growing to a metre (3 ft) tall, it has pale blue-green fine-leaved foliage and unusual purple-brown inflorescences which hang upside down rather than grow upright like most other banksias.
Banksia ser. Dryandroideae is a taxonomic series in the plant genus Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had two circumscriptions. As presently circumscribed it is monotypic, containing only B. dryandroides.
Banksia ser. Abietinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.
Banksia ser. Salicinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.
The taxonomy of Banksia integrifolia has a long and complex history, the result of confusion caused by the species' great variability, and similarities with some closely related species. The existence of hybrids between B. integrifolia and related species as well as early attempts to classify the species based on dried specimen material have also contributed to the confusion.
"The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)" is a 1981 monograph by Alex George on the taxonomy of the plant genus Banksia. Published by the Western Australian Herbarium as Nuytsia3(3), it presented George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, the first major taxonomic revision of the genus since George Bentham published his arrangement in Flora Australiensis in 1870.
Banksia ser. Quercinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.
Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis is a taxonomic series within the plant genus Banksia. First published at sectional rank by George Bentham in 1870, it was demoted to a series by Alex George in 1981. The name has had three circumscriptions.
Banksia ser. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata. Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.
This is a timeline of developments in knowledge and understanding of the Australian plant genus Banksia:
Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, published in 1996, was a novel taxonomic arrangement that was intended to align the taxonomy of Banksia more closely with the phylogeny that they had inferred from their cladistic analysis of the genus. It replaced Alex George's 1981 arrangement, but most aspects were not accepted by George, and it was soon replaced by a 1999 revision of George's arrangement. However some herbaria have continued to follow Thiele and Ladiges on some points.
Carl Meissner's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1856, as part of his chapter on the Proteaceae in A. P. de Candolle's Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. It was the first attempt to provide an infrageneric classification for the genus, aside from Robert Brown's publication of two subgenera in 1810. Meissner's arrangement stood until 1870, when it was superseded by the arrangement of George Bentham. Meissner's arrangement was an excellent survey of the known species at that time, but his infrageneric taxa were all highly heterogeneous.
Robert Brown's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in his book of 1810, Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, and expanded in the supplement to that publication, Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae, in 1830. It was the first survey of Banksia species to be published, and included descriptions of a number of previously undescribed species.
Alex George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was the first modern-day arrangement for that genus. First published in 1981 in the classic monograph The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae), it superseded the arrangement of George Bentham, which had stood for over a hundred years. It was overturned in 1996 by Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges, but restored by George in 1999. A recent publication by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele suggests that it will soon be overturned again.
Banksia sect. Eubanksia is an obsolete section of Banksia. There have been two circumscriptions, one of which is synonymous with the recently abandoned B. subg. Banksiasensu Alex George, the other having no modern equivalent.
Banksia spinulosa var. collina is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales. Commonly known as Hill Banksia or Golden Candlesticks, it is a taxonomic variety of B. spinulosa. It is a popular garden plant widely sold in nurseries.
Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales.
Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii, sometimes given species rank as Banksia cunninghamii, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Victoria and New South Wales. It is a fast-growing non-lignotuberous shrub or small tree infrequently cultivated.
