Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
Encyclopedia
Ernest Charles Nelson
's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
was the first modern-day arrangement of that plant
genus
. First published in his 1978 Brunonia article "A taxonomic revision of the genus Adenanthos (Proteaceae)", it superseded the arrangement of
George Bentham
, which had stood for over a hundred years. It was updated by Nelson in his 1995 treatment for the Flora of Australia
series of monographs.
in the plant family
Proteaceae
. Endemic to southern Australia
, they are evergreen
woody
shrubs with solitary flowers that are pollinated
by birds and, if fertilised
, develop into achene
s. They are not much cultivated. Common names of species often include one of the terms woollybush, jugflower and stick-in-the-jug.
The first known botanical collection of Adenanthos was made by Archibald Menzies
during the September 1791 visit of the Vancouver Expedition
to King George Sound
on the south coast of Western Australia
. However this did not lead to publication of the genus. Jacques Labillardière
collected specimens of A. cuneatus
from Esperance Bay the following year, and in 1803 Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour
collected the same two species as Menzies had 12 years earlier. Labillardière published the genus in 1805, in his Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
, based on the specimens collected by himself and Leschenault. The genus was given the name Adenanthos from the Greek
αδην (aden-, "gland") and ανθοσz (-anthos, "flower"), in reference to the prominent nectaries.
By 1870, 13 species had been published. That year, Bentham published a fourteenth species and the first infrageneric arrangement
, dividing the genus into two taxonomic sections, A. sect. Eurylaema
and A. sect. Stenolaema, based on the shape of the perianth
tube: members of A. sect. Eurylaema have perianth tubes that are curved and swollen above the middle, whereas members of A. sect. Stenolaena have perianth tubes that are straight and unswollen. This arrangement stood for over a hundred years, by which time a number of new species had been discovered, rendering Bentham's treatment "very inadequate and incomplete".
, A. sect. Stenolaema is renamed to the autonym
A. sect. Adenanthos
. This Nelson further divides into two subsections, A. subsect. Anaclastos and A. subsect. Adenanthos. Detailed descriptions of each are given, but Nelson recommends perianth length as the most convenient key for distinguishing between them.
Nelson's subsections were discarded by him in his 1995 treatment of Adenanthos for the Flora of Australia
series of monographs. He retained the two sections, and listed 40 species. Masculine names were used in accordance with a 1994 ICBN ruling. The full arrangement is as follows:
Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers...
's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
Adenanthos
Adenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...
was the first modern-day arrangement of that plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. First published in his 1978 Brunonia article "A taxonomic revision of the genus Adenanthos (Proteaceae)", it superseded the arrangement of
Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
George Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos was the first comprehensive taxonomic arrangement of that plant genus. It was published in 1870 in his landmark flora of Australia, Flora Australiensis...
George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
, which had stood for over a hundred years. It was updated by Nelson in his 1995 treatment 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.
Background
Adenanthos is a genus of around 30 speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the plant family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
. Endemic to southern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, they are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
woody
Woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that uses wood as its structural tissue. These are typically perennial plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues. The main stem, larger branches, and roots of these plants are usually covered by a layer of...
shrubs with solitary flowers that are pollinated
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
by birds and, if fertilised
Fertilisation
Fertilisation is the fusion of gametes to produce a new organism. In animals, the process involves the fusion of an ovum with a sperm, which eventually leads to the development of an embryo...
, develop into achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
s. They are not much cultivated. Common names of species often include one of the terms woollybush, jugflower and stick-in-the-jug.
The first known botanical collection of Adenanthos was made by Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist.- Life and career :Menzies was born at Easter Stix in the parish of Weem, in Perthshire. While working with his elder brother William at the Royal Botanic Gardens, he drew the attention of Dr John Hope, professor of botany at...
during the September 1791 visit of the Vancouver Expedition
Vancouver Expedition
The Vancouver Expedition was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver. The expedition circumnavigated the globe, touched five continents and changed the course of history for the indigenous nations and several European empires and their...
to King George Sound
King George Sound
King George Sound is the name of a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Located at , it is the site of the city of Albany.The sound covers an area of and varies in depth from to ....
on the south coast of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. However this did not lead to publication of the genus. Jacques Labillardière
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
collected specimens of A. cuneatus
Adenanthos cuneatus
Adenanthos cuneatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It was originally described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and is most closely related to A. stictus. A....
from Esperance Bay the following year, and in 1803 Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour
Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour
Jean Baptiste Louis Claude Theodore Leschenault de la Tour was a French botanist and ornithologist.Leschenault de la Tour was chief botanist on Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia between 1800 and 1803...
collected the same two species as Menzies had 12 years earlier. Labillardière published the genus in 1805, in his Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen is a two volume work describing the flora of Australia. The author was the French botanist Jacques Labillardière, who visited the region in 1792 with the d'Entrecasteaux expedition...
, based on the specimens collected by himself and Leschenault. The genus was given the name Adenanthos 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;...
αδην (aden-, "gland") and ανθοσz (-anthos, "flower"), in reference to the prominent nectaries.
By 1870, 13 species had been published. That year, Bentham published a fourteenth species and the first infrageneric arrangement
Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
George Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos was the first comprehensive taxonomic arrangement of that plant genus. It was published in 1870 in his landmark flora of Australia, Flora Australiensis...
, dividing the genus into two taxonomic sections, A. sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
and A. sect. Stenolaema, based on the shape of the perianth
Perianth
The term perianth has two similar but separate meanings in botany:* In flowering plants, the perianth are the outer, sterile whorls of a flower...
tube: members of A. sect. Eurylaema have perianth tubes that are curved and swollen above the middle, whereas members of A. sect. Stenolaena have perianth tubes that are straight and unswollen. This arrangement stood for over a hundred years, by which time a number of new species had been discovered, rendering Bentham's treatment "very inadequate and incomplete".
Nelson's arrangement
Nelson's arrangement of Adenanthos was first published in his article "A taxonomic revision of the genus Adenanthos (Proteaceae)", published in Brunonia in 1978. Eight new species and 4 new subspecies were published, bringing the number of species up to 32. In naming them, Nelson follows Labillardière in treating Adenanthos as having feminine gender, despite a ICBN recommendation (not rule) that names ending in -anthos be treated as masculine. Bentham's two sections are retained, but several additional diagnostic characteristics are given for them; and, in accordance with modern rules of botanical nomenclatureBotanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical...
, A. sect. Stenolaema is renamed to the autonym
Autonym (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Autonyms are cited without an author. Relevant provisions are in articles 6.8, 22.1-3 and 26.1-3....
A. sect. Adenanthos
Adenanthos sect. Adenanthos
Adenanthos sect. Adenanthos is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises 29 species. The centre of diversity is southwest Western Australia, with two species extending into South Australia and western Victoria.-Description:The section is characterised by flowers in...
. This Nelson further divides into two subsections, A. subsect. Anaclastos and A. subsect. Adenanthos. Detailed descriptions of each are given, but Nelson recommends perianth length as the most convenient key for distinguishing between them.
Nelson's subsections were discarded by him in his 1995 treatment of Adenanthos 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. He retained the two sections, and listed 40 species. Masculine names were used in accordance with a 1994 ICBN ruling. The full arrangement is as follows:
- AdenanthosAdenanthosAdenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...
- A. sect. EurylaemaAdenanthos sect. EurylaemaAdenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. barbigerAdenanthos barbigerAdenanthos barbiger is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December...
- A. obovatusAdenanthos obovatusAdenanthos obovatus, commonly known as basket flower or jugflower, is a shrub of the Proteaceae family endemic to Southwest Australia. Described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805, it had been first collected by Archibald Menzies in 1791...
- A. × pamelaAdenanthos × pamelaAdenanthos × pamela is a naturally occurring hybrid of A. detmoldii and A. obovatus. A bushy shrub intermediate between its parents in habit, leaf shape and flower colour, it is known only from road verges in the Scott River area, where its parent species co-occur...
- A. detmoldii
- A. sect. AdenanthosAdenanthos sect. AdenanthosAdenanthos sect. Adenanthos is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises 29 species. The centre of diversity is southwest Western Australia, with two species extending into South Australia and western Victoria.-Description:The section is characterised by flowers in...
- A. drummondiiAdenanthos drummondiiAdenanthos drummondii is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and is most closely related to A. stictus....
- A. dobagiiAdenanthos dobagiiAdenanthos dobagii, commonly known as Fitzgerald Woollybush, is a shrub in the family Proteaceae. It grows to a mere 50 cm high, with crowded small silvery leaves and insignificant pink or cream flowers...
- A. apiculatusAdenanthos apiculatusAdenanthos apiculatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and has had only 29 records of occurrence....
- A. linearisAdenanthos linearisAdenanthos linearis is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and has had only 14 occurrences; out of those 14, only 5 have had exact coordinates....
- A. pungensAdenanthos pungensAdenanthos pungens is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia....
- A. pungens subsp. pungens
- A. pungens subsp. effusus
- A. gracilipes
- A. venosus
- A. dobsonii
- A. glabrescensAdenanthos glabrescensAdenanthos glabrescens is a species of small shrub endemic to the Ravensthorpe area in southwest Western Australia. First published in 1978, there are two subspecies.-Description:...
- A. glabrescens subsp. glabrescens
- A. glabrescens subsp. exasperatus
- A. ellipticus
- A. cuneatusAdenanthos cuneatusAdenanthos cuneatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It was originally described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and is most closely related to A. stictus. A....
- A. stictusAdenanthos stictusAdenanthos cuneatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It was described by Alex George in 1974....
- A. ileticosAdenanthos ileticosAdenanthos ileticos is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It has roughly triangular, lobed leaves, and pale pink-red and cream, inconspicuous flowers. A rare species, it is known only from a single location in the south-west of Western Australia...
- A. forrestii
- A. eyreiAdenanthos eyreiAdenanthos eyrei is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. Restricted to a single cliff-top dune system on the remote south coast of Western Australia, it is listed as rare and endangered. It was discovered by E...
- A. cacomorphusAdenanthos cacomorphusAdenanthos cacomorphus is a small shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is found in southwestern Australia.-Description:Adenanthos cacomorphus grows as a small lignotuberous shrub up to one metre high. The soft and hairy leaves are more or less triangular in shape with 3 to 5 apical lobes...
- A. flavidiflorus
- A. argyreusAdenanthos argyreusAdenanthos argyreus is a species of erect shrub endemic to southwest Western Australia....
- A. macropodianusAdenanthos macropodianusAdenanthos macropodianus, commonly known as Gland Flower, or Kangaroo Island Gland Flower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Kangaroo Island in South Australia...
- A. terminalisAdenanthos terminalisAdenanthos terminalis, commonly known as Gland Flower, Yellow Gland Flower or Adenanthos, is a one metre tall shrub in the Proteaceae family...
- A. sericeusAdenanthos sericeusAdenanthos sericeus, commonly known as Woolly Bush, is a shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia. It has bright red but small and obscure flowers, and very soft, deeply divided, hairy leaves.-Description:...
- A. sericeus subsp. sericeusAdenanthos sericeus subsp. sericeusAdenanthos sericeus subsp. sericeus, commonly known as Coastal Woollybush, is a shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia. It has bright red but small and obscure flowers, and very soft, deeply divided, hairy leaves...
- A. sericeus subsp. sphalma
- A. sericeus subsp. sericeus
- A. × cunninghamiiAdenanthos × cunninghamiiAdenanthos × cunninghamii, commonly known as Woollybush, Albany Woollybush or Prostrate Woollybush, is a hybrid shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. oreophilusAdenanthos oreophilusAdenanthos oreophilus, commonly known as Woollybush, is a species of tall shrub endemic to southwest Western Australia. It is closely related to the better known A. sericeus , and was only classified as a species distinct from the latter in 1978 by Irish botanist E...
- A. cygnorumAdenanthos cygnorumAdenanthos cygnorum, commonly known as common woollybush or just woollybush, is a tall shrub in the Proteaceae family. It is endemic to Western Australia, commonly occurring in the south west of the State from north of Geraldton south to Kojonup...
- A. cygnorum subsp. cygnorum
- A. cygnorum subsp. chamaephyton
- A. meisneriAdenanthos meisneriAdenanthos meisneri, commonly known as Prostrate Woollybush, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia....
- A. velutinus
- A. filifoliusAdenanthos filifoliusAdenanthos filifolius is a species of erect shrub endemic to southwest Western Australia. It was first described by George Bentham in 1870....
- A. labillardiereiAdenanthos labillardiereiAdenanthos labillardierei is a species of erect shrub endemic to the slopes of the Barren Ranges in the Fitzgerald River National Park in southwest Western Australia.-Description:It grows as an erect shrub, usually less than m in height...
- A. acanthophyllus
- A. drummondii
- A. sect. Eurylaema