Dryandra ser. Ilicinae facts for kids
Dryandra ser. Ilicinae was once a way to group certain plants in the Dryandra family. Think of "series" as a small group within a larger plant family. This group is now considered "obsolete," meaning it's no longer used by scientists.
It was first named by Carl Meissner in 1856. Later, George Bentham decided not to use this group in 1870. Alex George brought it back with some changes in 1996. But in 2007, scientists Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele made a big change. They decided that all Dryandra plants should actually be part of the Banksia family. Because of this, the Dryandra ser. Ilicinae group was no longer needed.
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How Scientists Classified It Over Time
Scientists often change how they group plants as they learn more. The Dryandra ser. Ilicinae group has an interesting history of being created, removed, and then brought back.
Carl Meissner's Idea (1856)
Carl Meissner was the first to describe this group in 1856. He wrote about it in a big book about plants. Meissner divided the Dryandra plants into different sections. He then made smaller groups within these sections.
He called one of these smaller groups Dryandra § Ilicinae. He chose this name because the leaves of these plants looked like those of Ilex (Holly). This group included four species:
- D. praemorsa (now called Banksia undata)
- D. quercifolia (now called Banksia heliantha)
- D. cuneata (now called Banksia obovata)
- D. floribunda (now called Banksia sessilis var. sessilis)
George Bentham's Changes (1870)
Later, in 1870, George Bentham looked at Meissner's work. He decided not to use many of Meissner's groups, including D. § Ilicinae. Bentham thought these groups relied too much on just the shape of the leaves.
The plants that Meissner had put in D. § Ilicinae were moved. Most of them went into a new group called D. ser. Armatae. However, D. floribunda (now Banksia sessilis) was placed in a different group, D. ser. Floribundae.
Alex George's Revision (1996)
In 1996, Alex George published his own updated way of classifying Dryandra plants. He decided to bring back the name Ilicinae. He made it a "series" group within the larger Dryandra subgenus Dryandra.
George's new D. ser. Ilicinae group included three species:
- D. praemorsa (now Banksia undata)
- D. quercifolia (now Banksia heliantha)
- D. anatona (now Banksia anatona)
Why the Group is Obsolete Now (2007)
Since 1998, scientists like Austin Mast have been studying the DNA of these plants. Their research showed something very important. It looked like the Dryandra plants actually grew from within the Banksia family. This meant that Dryandra wasn't a completely separate group.
So, in 2007, Mast and Kevin Thiele made a big decision. They moved all Dryandra plants into the Banksia family. They became a new series called Banksia series Dryandra. Because of this change, all of Alex George's old groups for Dryandra, including D. ser. Ilicinae, are no longer used.
Scientists continue to study the DNA of these plants. They plan to create a full new way to classify them once all the research is complete.
