Taxonomy of Banksia - Classical Taxonomic Treatment

Classical Taxonomic Treatment

In 1981, Alex George published his classic 1981 monograph The Genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae). George's arrangement was based on a variety of properties including leaf, style, pollen-presenter, follicle and seed characters, with the criterion that a taxon was considered a distinct species only if it exhibited a "significant and consistent difference in the morphology of flowers and/or fruit". It was the first thorough revision of the taxonomy of Banksia for over a century, and formed the basis for George's 1984 The Banksia Book, which remains the standard text on the genus, and the treatment of Banksia in the Flora of Australia series.

George followed Brown in dividing Banksia into two subgenera, Banksia and Isostylis. He then divided subgenus Banksia into two sections: Banksia for species with straight or slightly curved styles, and Oncostylis for species with hooked styles. These two sections were then divided into nine and three series respectively. The arrangement into series largely followed Bentham, with series Orthostylis remaining somewhat heterogeneous, and Cyrtostylis remaining highly heterogeneous.

This conventional taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, as provided by George and published in the Flora of Australia series, may be summarised as follows:

Genus Banksia

Subgenus Banksia

Section Banksia

Series Salicinae

B. dentata – B. aquilonia – B. integrifolia – B. plagiocarpa – B. oblongifolia – B. robur – B. conferta – B. paludosa – B. marginata – B. canei – B. saxicola

Series Grandes

B. grandis – B. solandri

Series Banksia

B. serrata – B. aemula – B. ornata – B. baxteri – B. speciosa – B. menziesii – B. candolleana – B. sceptrum

Series Crocinae

B. prionotes – B. burdettii – B. hookeriana – B. victoriae

Series Prostratae

B. goodii – B. gardneri – B. chamaephyton – B. blechnifolia – B. repens – B. petiolaris

Series Cyrtostylis

B. media – B. praemorsa – B. epica – B. pilostylis – B. attenuata – B. ashbyi – B. benthamiana – B. audax – B. lullfitzii – B. elderiana – B. laevigata – B. elegans – B. lindleyana

Series Tetragonae

B. lemanniana – B. caleyi – B. aculeata

Series Bauerinae

B. baueri

Series Quercinae

B. quercifolia – B. oreophila

Section Coccinea

B. coccinea

Section Oncostylis

Series Spicigerae

B. spinulosa – B. ericifolia – B. verticillata – B. seminuda – B. littoralis – B. occidentalis – B. brownii

Series Tricuspidae

B. tricuspis

Series Dryandroidae

B. dryandroides

Series Abietinae

B. sphaerocarpa – B. micrantha – B. grossa – B. telmatiaea – B. leptophylla – B. lanata – B. scabrella – B. violacea – B. incana – B. laricina – B. pulchella – B. meisneri – B. nutans

Subgenus Isostylis

B. ilicifolia – B. oligantha – B. cuneata