Banksia subser. Sphaerocarpae is a valid botanic name for a subseries of Banksia

Banksia

Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

. It was published by Kevin Thiele

Kevin Thiele

Kevin R. Thiele is curator of the Western Australian Herbarium. His research interests include the systematics of the plant families Proteaceae, Rhamnaceae and Violaceae, and the conservation ecology of grassy woodland ecosystems...

 in 1996, but discarded by Alex George

Alex George

Alexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...

 in 1999.

Cladistics

The name came about after a cladistic analysis

Cladistics

Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...

 of Banksia by Thiele and Pauline Ladiges yielded a phylogeny somewhat at odds with the accepted taxonomic arrangement, prompting them to publish a revised arrangement

Thiele and Ladiges' taxonomic arrangement of 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...

. Their cladogram

Cladogram

A cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between organisms, to represent the evolutionary tree of life. Although traditionally such cladograms were generated largely on the basis of morphological characters, DNA and RNA sequencing data and computational...

 contained a clade that corresponded closely to George's B. ser. Abietinae

Banksia ser. Abietinae

Banksia ser. Abietinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

. This clade resolved into four subclades, for which Thiele published four corresponding subseries. B. subser. Sphaerocarpae was based upon the third subclade:

Taxonomy

B. subser. Sphaerocarpae was formally defined as containing those taxa with "seeds with transversely aligned cells on the inner face on the inner face of the wing,... and old styles that curl loosely around the infructescence." In addition, all species except B. grossa have a papery interseminal plate. The epithet Sphaerocarpae is taken from the specific epithet of the type species, B. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa, commonly known as the Fox Banksia or Round-fruit Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia . It is generally encountered as a 1–2 m high shrub, and is usually smaller in the north of its range...

(Fox Banksia).

The wide phyletic separation of B. sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla, commonly known as Ironcap Banksia, is a plant which is either considered a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa, or as a species in its own right. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia...

 (Ironcap Banksia) from the other varieties of B. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa, commonly known as the Fox Banksia or Round-fruit Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia . It is generally encountered as a 1–2 m high shrub, and is usually smaller in the north of its range...

prompted Thiele to promote it to species rank as B. dolichostyla.

The placement and circumscription of B. subser. Leptophyllae in Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement may be summarised as follows:

Banksia

Banksia

Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

B. subg. Isostylis

Banksia subg. Isostylis

Banksia subg. Isostylis is a subgenus of Banksia. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus Isostylis have dome-shaped flower heads that are superficially similar to those of B. ser...

 (3 species)

B. elegans

Banksia elegans

The Elegant Banksia is a species of shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs only over a 65 square kilometre area north and west of Eneabba, Western Australia.-Ecology:...

(incertae sedis

Incertae sedis

, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...

)

B. subg. Banksia

Banksia subg. Banksia

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.-Banksia verae:B. subg...

B. ser. Tetragonae

Banksia ser. Tetragonae

Banksia ser. Tetragonae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of three closely related species of erect shrub with pendulous inflorescences in section Banksia. These are B. lemanniana , B. caleyi and B. aculeata ....

 (4 species)

B. ser. Lindleyanae (1 species)

B. ser. Banksia

Banksia ser. Banksia

Banksia ser. Banksia is avalid 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.-According to Bentham:Banksia ser. Banksia originated in 1870 as...

 (2 subseries, 12 species)

B. baueri

Banksia baueri

The Woolly Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in southwest Western Australia north and east of Albany. It has a distinctively large and hairy looking inflorescence which can be 300 mm or more long and up to 200 mm in diameter.It is placed alone in series...

(incertae sedis)

B. lullfitzii

Banksia lullfitzii

Banksia lullfitzii is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. A many-branched, spreading bush with golden-orange flowers, it occurs in scattered populations over a large area of the eastern goldfields of Western Australia...

(incertae sedis)

B. attenuata

Banksia attenuata

Banksia attenuata, commonly known as the candlestick banksia or slender banksia, is a species of plant in the proteaceae family. Commonly a tree, it reaches 10 m high, but is often a shrub in dryer areas 0.4 to 2 m high...

(incertae sedis)

B. ashbyi

Banksia ashbyi

The Ashby's Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in heath and spinifex country along the coast of Western Australia between Geraldton and Exmouth.-Description:...

(incertae sedis)

B. coccinea

Banksia coccinea

Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the Scarlet Banksia, Waratah Banksia or Albany Banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia...

(incertae sedis)

B. ser. Prostratae

Banksia ser. Prostratae

Banksia ser. Prostratae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of six closely related species in section Banksia, all endemic to Western Australia, with a prostrate habit.Banksia ser...

 (8 species)

B. ser. Cyrtostylis

Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis

Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis is a valid botanic name for 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.-According to Bentham:Bentham published B....

 (4 species)

B. ser. Ochraceae

Banksia ser. Ochraceae

Banksia ser. Ochraceae is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series within the plant genus Banksia. It was published by Kevin Thiele in 1996, but discarded by Alex George in 1999.-Cladistics:...

 (3 species, 2 subspecies)

B. ser. Grandes

Banksia ser. Grandes

Banksia ser. Grandes is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of two closely related species in section Banksia, both endemic to Western Australia. These are B. grandis and B. solandri ....

 (2 species)

B. ser. Salicinae

Banksia ser. Salicinae

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.-According to Meissner:...

 (2 subseries, 11 species, 4 subspecies)

B. ser. Spicigerae

Banksia ser. Spicigerae

Banksia ser. Spicigerae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of the seven species in section Oncostylis that have cylindrical inflorescences. These range in form from small shrubs to tall trees. The leaves grow in either an alternate or whorled pattern, with various shape forms...

 (3 subseries, 7 species, 6 varieties)

B. ser. Quercinae

Banksia ser. Quercinae

Banksia ser. Quercinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

 (2 species)

B. ser. Dryandroideae

Banksia ser. Dryandroideae

Banksia ser. Dryandroideae is a valid botanic name for 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.-According to Meissner:B. ser...

 (1 species)

B. ser. Abietinae

Banksia ser. Abietinae

Banksia ser. Abietinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

B. subser. Nutantes (1 species, 2 varieties)

B. subser. Sphaerocarpae

B. grossa

Banksia grossa

Banksia grossa, commonly known as Coarse Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant family Proteaceae endemic to south west Western Australia. One of fourteen species of banksia with predominantly round or oval inflorescences of the series Abietinae, it was described in 1981 as a distinct species...

B. dolichostyla (now B. sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla, commonly known as Ironcap Banksia, is a plant which is either considered a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa, or as a species in its own right. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia...

)

B. micrantha

Banksia micrantha

Banksia micrantha is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. A small spreading bush with pale yellow flower spikes, it occurs between Eneabba and Cervantes in South west Western Australia...

B. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa, commonly known as the Fox Banksia or Round-fruit Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia . It is generally encountered as a 1–2 m high shrub, and is usually smaller in the north of its range...

B. s. var. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. sphaerocarpa is a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. As an autonym, it is defined as containing the type specimen of the species....

B. s. var. caesia

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia is a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia....

B. subser. Leptophyllae

Banksia subser. Leptophyllae

Banksia subser. Leptophyllae is avalid botanic name for a subseries of Banksia. It was published by Kevin Thiele in 1996, but discarded by Alex George in 1999.-Cladistics:...

 (4 species, 2 varieties)

B. subser. Longistyles

Banksia subser. Longistyles

Banksia subser. Longistyles is avalid botanic name for a subseries of Banksia. It was published by Kevin Thiele in 1996, but discarded by Alex George in 1999.-Cladistics:...

 (6 species, 2 varieties)

Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement remained current only until 1999, when George's treatment of the genus for the Flora of Australia

Flora of Australia (series)

The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...

series of monographs was published. This was essentially a revision of George's 1981 arrangement, which took into account some of Thiele and Ladiges' data, but rejected their overall arrangement. B. subser. Sphaerocarpae was discarded, as were the other three subseries of B. ser. Abietinae, and B. dolichostyla was once more demoted to a variety of B. sphaerocarpa.

Recent developments

Since 1998, Austin Mast

Austin Mast

Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently an associate professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University , and has been director of FSU's since August 2003.One of his...

 has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence

DNA sequence

The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...

 data for the subtribe Banksiinae, which suggest a phylogeny that is rather different to previous taxonomic arrangements. His results suggest that B. subser. Sphaerocarpae is polyphyletic

Polyphyly

A polyphyletic group is one whose members' last common ancestor is not a member of the group.For example, the group consisting of warm-blooded animals is polyphyletic, because it contains both mammals and birds, but the most recent common ancestor of mammals and birds was cold-blooded...

: B. micrantha

Banksia micrantha

Banksia micrantha is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. A small spreading bush with pale yellow flower spikes, it occurs between Eneabba and Cervantes in South west Western Australia...

, B. sphaerocarpa var. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. sphaerocarpa

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. sphaerocarpa is a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. As an autonym, it is defined as containing the type specimen of the species....

 and B. sphaerocarpa var. caesia

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia

Banksia sphaerocarpa var. caesia is a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia....

 together form a clade, but B. grossa appears more closely related to the members of Thiele's B. subser. Leptophyllae

Banksia subser. Leptophyllae

Banksia subser. Leptophyllae is avalid botanic name for a subseries of Banksia. It was published by Kevin Thiele in 1996, but discarded by Alex George in 1999.-Cladistics:...

, and B. dolichostyla falls into a clade with B. violacea

Banksia violacea

Banksia violacea, commonly known as Violet Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia . It generally grows as a small shrub to 1.5 m high with fine narrow leaves, and is best known for its unusually coloured dark purple-violet inflorescences...

(Violet Banksia), B. laricina

Banksia laricina

The Rose-Fruited Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It derives its specific Latin name from larix or larch, which its foliage is said to resemble. The common name comes from the striking fruits which resemble wooden roses...

(Rose-fruited Banksia) and B. incana

Banksia incana

The Hoary Banksia is a species of small shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on sandplain heathland between Badgingarra and Eneabba in Western Australia, with outlying populations as far south as Perth. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 14 days to germinate....

(Hoary Banksia).

Early in 2007 Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement of Banksia by transferring Dryandra into it, and publishing B. subg. Spathulatae

Banksia subg. Spathulatae

Banksia subg. Spathulatae is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. It was published in 2007 by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, and defined as containing all those Banksia species having spathulate cotyledons...

 for the species having spoon-shaped cotyledon

Cotyledon

A cotyledon , is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant. Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling. The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the flowering plants...

s. All members of subseries Sphaerocarpae fall within Mast and Thiele's B. subg. Spathulatae, but nothing further has been published. Mast and Thiele have foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of Dryandra is complete.