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Australian Systematic Botany Australian Systematic Botany Society
Taxonomy, biogeography and evolution of plants
RESEARCH ARTICLE

A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in Australia. 5. Additional taxa in Section Leptocephalae

A. E. Orchard
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Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Email: Tony.Orchard@deh.gov.au

Australian Systematic Botany 19(2) 183-191 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB05018
Submitted: 15 June 2005  Accepted: 24 October 2005   Published: 28 April 2006

Abstract

Additional collections and re-examination of previous specimens allow the description of new taxa in Cassinia. Cassinia sect. Leptocephalae is divided into three series: ser. Leptocephaleae, which comprises the C. leptocephala / C. cunninghamii / C. decipiens group; ser. Macrocephaleae Orchard, ser. nov. to accommodate C. macrocephala and C. denticulata; and ser. Compactae Orchard, ser. nov., to accommodate the C. compacta group of five brown-headed species. Further evidence is presented to support the suggestion that the lack of paleae in those Cassinia species with few florets is an artefact, and that the innermost ‘phyllaries’ are in fact paleae. Two new subspecies of C. macrocephala are described: subsp. petrapendula Orchard, subsp. nov. and subsp. storyi Orchard, subsp. nov., plus one new species, Cassinia furtiva Orchard, sp. nov.


Acknowledgments

I thank my wife and field companion Theresa for patient and observant hours spent hunting elusive Cassinia species in several States. This paper, as for others in the series, was based on examination of specimens borrowed from or consulted in several herbaria (AD, BRI, CANB (incl. CBG), HO, K, MEL, NE, NSW, PERTH, S, W). The Directors, staff and curators of these institutions are thanked for their generosity and patience in making this material available (and in some cases for hosting me on visits to their collections). The Director and staff of CANB are thanked also for their support in providing a congenial place to carry out the research. Mr Andrew Slee (CANB) kindly identified the eucalypts associated with Cassinia macrocephala subsp. petrapendula. Annette Wilson, ABRS, provided invaluable assistance in scanning the illustrations.


References


Orchard AE (2004a) A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in Australia. 1. Introduction and generic / infrageneric considerations. Australian Systematic Botany 17, 469–481.
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Orchard AE (2004b) A revision of Cassinia (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) in Australia. 3. Section Leptocephalae. Australian Systematic Botany 17, 535–565.
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Wakefield NA (1951) Some notes on Cassinia with description of a new species. The Victorian Naturalist 68, 69–70. open url image1