Taxonomy of Adenanthos facts for kids

George Bentham created the first full way of organizing the plant group (or genus) called Adenanthos. He published this work in 1870 in his important book about Australian plants, Flora Australiensis. His system was used for over 100 years until Ernest Charles Nelson made a new arrangement in 1978.

About Adenanthos Plants

Adenanthos is a group of about 30 different kinds of plants, also known as species. They belong to the plant family called Proteaceae. These plants only grow in southern Australia. They are evergreen woody shrubs, meaning they keep their leaves all year round.

Their flowers grow one by one and are pollinated by birds. If the flowers are fertilized, they grow into small, dry fruits called achenes. People don't grow these plants much in gardens. Common names for these plants often include "woollybush," "jugflower," or "stick-in-the-jug."

The first time a botanist (plant scientist) collected an Adenanthos plant was in September 1791. Archibald Menzies found it near King George Sound in Western Australia during the Vancouver Expedition. However, this discovery wasn't published right away.

The next year, Jacques Labillardière collected samples of A. cuneatus from Esperance Bay. In 1803, Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour collected the same two species that Menzies had found. Labillardière officially named the group of plants Adenanthos in 1805. He based the name on the samples he and Leschenault collected.

The name Adenanthos comes from two Greek words: aden- (meaning "gland") and -anthos (meaning "flower"). This refers to the clear nectaries (parts that make nectar) on the flowers. By 1870, scientists had named 13 different Adenanthos species. That year, George Bentham published his book, which included his study of the Proteaceae plant family, including Adenanthos.

Bentham's Plant Grouping System

In his study of Adenanthos, George Bentham named a fourteenth species. He also created the first way to organize the plants within the group. He divided the Adenanthos genus into two main taxonomic sections: A. sect. Eurylaema and A. sect. Stenolaema.

Bentham based this division on the shape of the perianth tube, which is part of the flower.

• Plants in A. sect. Eurylaema have perianth tubes that are curved and wider in the middle.
• Plants in A. sect. Stenolaena have perianth tubes that are straight and not swollen.

Here is how Bentham organized the Adenanthos plants:

Adenanthos

A. sect. Eurylaema

A. barbigera (now called A. barbiger)

A. obovata (now called A. obovatus)

A. sect. Stenolaena (now called A. sect. Adenanthos)

A. cuneata (now called A. cuneatus)

A. Cunninghamii (now called A. × cunninghamii)

A. pungens

A. venosa (now called A. venosus)

A. Dobsoni (now called A. dobsonii)

A. linearis

A. sericea (now called A. sericeus)

A. Meissneri (now called A. meisneri)

A. filifolia (now called A. filifolius)

A. terminalis

A. flavidiflora (now called A. flavidiflorus)

A. apiculata (now called A. apiculatus)

Bentham's Lasting Impact

Bentham's way of organizing Adenanthos was used for more than a hundred years. Over time, new species were found, making his original work "very incomplete."

However, his idea of dividing the genus into two sections based on the perianth shape is still used today. Some rules for naming plants, called botanical nomenclature, have changed. Because of these changes, A. sect. Stenolaema is now known as A. sect. Adenanthos. Also, all the specific names of the plants now have a masculine form. For example, the plant Bentham called Adenanthos barbigera is now named Adenanthos barbiger.

See also

In Spanish: Taxonomía de Adenanthos para niños