Banksia subser. Leptophyllae
Encyclopedia
Banksia subser. Leptophyllae 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. Leptophyllae was based upon the fourth subclade:

Taxonomy

B. subser. Leptophyllae was formally defined as containing those taxa with "indurated and spinescent common bracts on the infructescence axes, and densely arachnose seedling stems." The epithet Leptophyllae is taken from the specific epithet of the type species, B. leptophylla
Banksia leptophylla
The Slender-leaved Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs along the west coast of Western Australia from Gingin to Kalbarri. Before Alex George's revision of 1981, it was labelled informally as B. sphaerocarpa var. pinifolia or var...

(Slender-leaved Banksia), from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 leptos ("fine, slender") and phyllon (leaf). It was selected as appropriate for the subseries, the species of which have long leaves that are narrower than most other species in B. ser. Abietinae.

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
Banksia subser. Sphaerocarpae
Banksia subser. Sphaerocarpae is a valid 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. Leptophyllae
B. telmatiaea
Banksia telmatiaea
Banksia telmatiaea, commonly known as Swamp Fox Banksia or rarely Marsh Banksia, is a shrub that grows in marshes and swamps along the lower west coast of Australia. It grows as an upright bush up to 2 m tall, with narrow leaves and a pale brown flower spike, which can produce profuse...

B. scabrella
Banksia scabrella
Banksia scabrella, commonly known as the Burma Road Banksia, is a species of woody shrub in the genus Banksia. It is classified in the series Abietinae, a group of several species of shrubs with small round or oval inflorescences...

B. leptophylla
Banksia leptophylla
The Slender-leaved Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs along the west coast of Western Australia from Gingin to Kalbarri. Before Alex George's revision of 1981, it was labelled informally as B. sphaerocarpa var. pinifolia or var...

B. leptophylla var. melletica
Banksia leptophylla var. melletica
Banksia leptophylla var. melletica is a variety of Banksia leptophylla. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia....

B. leptophylla var. leptophylla
Banksia leptophylla var. leptophylla
Banksia leptophylla var. leptophylla is a variety of Banksia leptophylla. 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. lanata
Banksia lanata
The Coomallo Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs within a range of less than 100 square kilometres between Eneabba and Mount Lesueur, Western Australia. It has roughly spherical inflorescences with flowers of cream to orange-brown colour. The leaves are linear and...

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. Leptophyllae was discarded, as were the other three subseries of B. ser. Abietinae.

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. His analyses suggest a phylogeny that is rather different to previous taxonomic arrangements. With respect to B. subser. Leptophyllae, Mast's results accord closely with the arrangement of Thiele and Ladiges, inferring a polytomous clade corresponding exactly with Thiele and Ladiges' subseries, with 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...

(Coarse Banksia) as the nearest outgroup
Outgroup
In cladistics or phylogenetics, an outgroup is a group of organisms that serves as a reference group for determination of the evolutionary relationship among three or more monophyletic groups of organisms....

:

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 Leptophyllae 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.
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