Meissner's taxonomic arrangement of Dryandra facts for kids

Carl Meissner's way of organizing Dryandra plants was published in 1856. These plants are now known as Banksia series Dryandra. Meissner's system took over from an older one made by Robert Brown in 1830. Meissner's work was then used until George Bentham created a new system in 1870.

What are Dryandra Plants?

The Dryandra plants are a group of shrubs that belong to the Proteaceae family. They are only found in the southwest part of Western Australia. For almost 200 years, scientists thought they were their own special group, called a genus. Robert Brown first described them as a genus in 1810.

However, in 2007, scientists decided that Dryandra plants actually fit better inside the Banksia genus. So, they became Banksia series Dryandra. Today, there are nearly 100 different types (species) of these plants, plus many smaller variations.

The very first way of organizing Dryandra plants was by Robert Brown in 1810. He listed 13 species but didn't put them into smaller groups. Twenty years later, Brown updated his system. He divided 23 known species into three main subgroups. He also moved one of his 1810 Dryandra species into a new genus called Hemiclidia. Brown's system was used until Carl Meissner published his new arrangement in 1856.

Meissner's Way of Organizing Dryandra

Carl Meissner's system kept Brown's main groups, Dryandra and Hemiclidia. Meissner then divided the Dryandra group into three main sections. The largest section, called Eudryandra, was further split into eight smaller, unnamed groups. These groups were marked with a special symbol "§". In his system, Meissner recognized 53 different species and six varieties of Dryandra plants.

Here is a simplified look at how Meissner organized the plants:

• Genus Dryandra (now part of Banksia series Dryandra)
  • Section Eudryandra
    • This section was the largest. It included many species, like D. praemorsa (now B. undata) and D. quercifolia (now B. heliantha). Meissner divided this section into eight smaller groups, such as:
      • § Ilicinæ
      • § Runcinatæ
      • § Serratæ
      • § Marginatæ
      • § Pectinatæ
      • § Decurrentes
      • § Acrodontæ
      • § Haplophyllæ
  • Section Diplophragma
    • This section included species like D. bipinnatifida and D. Preissii.
  • Section Aphragma
    • This section contained species such as D. pteridifolia and D. calophylla.
• Genus Hemiclidia
  • This small group included H. Baxteri.

Meissner's Lasting Impact

Meissner's way of classifying Dryandra plants was used for many years, until 1870. That's when George Bentham published his new system in a big book called Flora Australiensis. Bentham decided not to use most of Meissner's smaller groups. He only kept Robert Brown's Dryandra section Aphragma.

However, Meissner's work wasn't forgotten! In 1996, a scientist named Alex George created a new classification system. He brought back some of Brown's and Meissner's old groups. For example, he reused Brown's Diplophragma as a subgenus. He also brought back several of Meissner's series, like Marginatae and Ilicinae.

Then, in 2007, two scientists, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, made a big change. They moved all Dryandra plants into the Banksia genus. They did this because they found that Banksia wasn't a complete group without Dryandra. To make this change easy, they decided to put Dryandra as a "series" within Banksia. This means that Meissner's original detailed classification of Dryandra is not currently used, at least for now.