Dryandra subg. Hemiclidia facts for kids
Dryandra subg. Hemiclidia was once a name for a group of plants. These plants are now part of the well-known Banksia plant family.
A botanist named Robert Brown first named this group Hemiclidia in 1830. Later, in 1870, another botanist, George Bentham, decided not to use the name Hemiclidia anymore.
However, in 1996, Alex George brought the name back. He used it as a subgenus, calling it Dryandra subg. Hemiclidia. But things changed again in 2007. All Dryandra species were moved into the Banksia group. This meant that Dryandra subg. Hemiclidia was no longer used as a separate group.
How Robert Brown Named Hemiclidia
In 1810, Robert Brown introduced the plant group Dryandra. He wrote about it in his book, On the Proteaceae of Jussieu. He described thirteen different species, including one called Dryandra falcata. This plant is now known as Banksia falcata.
Twenty years later, in 1830, Brown published more species. He also created the first way to organize the Dryandra plants into smaller groups. He decided to move Dryandra falcata into its own group, which he called Hemiclidia. The name Hemiclidia comes from Greek words. Hemi means "half," and kleidos might mean "barrier" or "means of closing."
Another botanist, Carl Meissner, kept the name Hemiclidia in his plant organization system in 1856. But then, in 1870, George Bentham changed the classification. He decided to stop using Hemiclidia as a separate group.
Alex George's Classification of Dryandra
In 1996, Alex George did a big study of the Dryandra plants. He was preparing a detailed book about them for the Flora of Australia series.
George noticed that Dryandra falcata and a new species he found, Dryandra glauca (now Banksia glaucifolia), were special. They had unusual seed pods, called follicles. These pods were small, hairy, and flexible.
He decided these two species needed their own subgenus. Since Hemiclidia had been used before for Dryandra falcata, George brought the name back. He called the new subgenus Dryandra subg. Hemiclidia (R.Br.) A.S.George.
Here's a simple way to see how Alex George organized Dryandra plants:
- Genus Dryandra (now part of Banksia ser. Dryandra)
- Subgenus Dryandra (This was the largest group, with many species.)
- Subgenus Hemiclidia
- D. falcata (now Banksia falcata)
- D. glauca (now Banksia glaucifolia)
- Subgenus Diplophragma (This group had only one species.)
This way of organizing the plants was used until 2007. That year, two scientists, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, moved all Dryandra plants into the Banksia genus. They did this to simplify the plant family tree.
Because of this change, Alex George's detailed subgenus system, including Dryandra subg. Hemiclidia, was no longer used. Now, all former Dryandra plants are simply part of the Banksia group.
