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The eucalypts, which include Eucalyptus, Angophora and Corymbia, are native to Australia and Malesia and include over 800 named species in a mixture of diverse and depauperate lineages. We assessed the fit of the eucalypt taxonomic classification to a phylogeny of 711 species scored for DNA sequences of plastid matK and psbA–trnH, as well as nuclear internal transcribed spacer and external transcribed spacer. Two broadly similar topologies emerge from both maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses, showing Angophora nested within Corymbia, or Angophora sister to Corymbia. The position of certain species-poor groups on long branches fluctuated relative to the three major Eucalyptus subgenera, and positions of several closely related species within those subgenera were unstable and lacked statistical support. Most sections and series of Eucalyptus were not recovered as monophyletic. We calibrated these phylogenies against time, using penalised likelihood and constraints obtained from fossil ages. On the basis of these trees, most major eucalypt subgenera arose in the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene. All Eucalyptus clades with taxa occurring in south-eastern Australia have crown ages <20 million years. Several eucalypt clades display a strong present-day geographic disjunction, although these clades did not have strong phylogenetic statistical support. In particular, the estimated age of the separation between the eudesmids (Eucalyptus subgenus Eudesmia) and monocalypts (Eucalyptus subgenus Eucalyptus) was consistent with extensive inland water bodies in the Eocene. Bayesian analysis of macroevolutionary mixture rates of net species diversification accelerated in five sections of Eucalyptus subgenus Symphyomyrtus, all beginning 2–3 million years ago and associated with semi-arid habitats dominated by mallee and mallet growth forms, and with open woodlands and forests in eastern Australia. This is the first time that a calibrated molecular study has shown support for the

Lomatia R.Br. is a genus of 12 species in South America and eastern Australia. Hybridisation is extensive in the Australian species and molecular work is required to understand phylogenetic relationships and examine potential gene flow among species. We d

The pollen morphology of 36 genera and 147 species from the Myrtaceae tribes Chamelaucieae, Leptospermeae and Lindsayomyrteae was surveyed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). Syncolpate pollen were observed in all genera of Leptospermeae and some genera of Chamelaucieae. Genera of tribe Chamelaucieae displayed five distinct colpal morphologies, which makes it the tribe with the most diverse pollen in Myrtaceae. Six genera of Chamelaucieae, including Actinodium, Chamelaucium, Darwinia, Homoranthus, Pileanthus and Verticordia, produce large acolpate pollen not observed in any other Myrtaceae. Two of these genera produce distinct pollen; Actinodium is the only genus to have prolate-spheroidal shaped pollen, and Pileanthus pollen is large and dicolporate. A number of anomalous aperture types occurred in species of Chamelaucieae, including monocolporate (Homoranthus thomasii), pentacolporate (Calytrix oldfieldii) and hexacolporate (Sannantha tozerensis). Pollen of Lindsayomyrteae appeared similar to those of Leptospermeae and Chamelaucieae, and on the basis of pollen features, could be related to these two tribes.

A family-wide palynological study of Myrtaceae was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). In this part of the study, the pollen morphology of 18 genera and 150 species from the Myrtaceae tribes of subfamily Myrtoideae, Eucalypteae, Lophostemoneae, Syncarpieae, Xanthostemoneae and subfamily Psiloxyloideae are presented. It was found that the most commonly observed pollen in these groups was parasyncolpate with a rugulate exine, whereas some species possessed an apocolpial island. The large, and sometimes syndemicolpate, pollen of Eucalypteae genera Angophora and Corymbia differed from all other genera. Most Eucalyptus pollen had endopores with a thickened exine.

Identifying synapomorphic morphological characters is needed to select and then accurately place fossils as calibrations on a phylogeny in molecular-dating analyses. The plant family Myrtaceae, with 130 genera and 5500 species, has nine different pollen types, whereas the fossil pollen record of Myrtaceae, represented by the genus Myrtaceidites, putatively extends back to the Cretaceous and also contains at least nine distinct morphospecies. To reveal potential links between extant and fossil pollen, we optimised pollen characters scored from a recent family-wide review of extant Myrtaceae pollen using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) onto a phylogeny of 111 taxa inferred from two chloroplast (matK and ndhF) and one nuclear (internal transcribed spacer, ITS) loci. Our findings indicate the potential use of colpus morphology in diagnosing pollen types in Myrtaceae, whereas the majority of character states of exine pattern, presence of apocolpial island and pollen width appear to be homoplasious. The results of the present study have implications for understanding the relationship between fossil morphospecies and extant Myrtaceae species, and their reliable choice in molecular dating.

Pollen morphology of 16 genera and 101 species from the Myrtaceae tribes Backhousieae, Melaleuceae, Metrosidereae, Osbornieae and Syzygieae was surveyed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). The most common pollen type observed in these tribes was parasyncolpate with arcuate or angular colpi, and a rugulate exine pattern. There was little size variation in observed pollen, except for larger pollen in tribe Melaleuceae. All Metrosideros pollen grains had apocolpial islands, as well as all Callistemon species viewed by LM. Choricarpia of tribe Backhousieae had pollen with a distinctive exine pattern. Dicolporate pollen were observed in two tribes, Metrosidereae (Tepualia) and Syzygieae (Acmena), and may be of systematic value. The dicolporate grains of these two genera were also easily distinguishable from each other by using size and pollen side shape as diagnostic characters. Two pollen types were observed within the genus Melaleuca, and a number of pollen types were observed within the species-rich genus Syzygium.

Pollen morphology of 44 genera and 101 species from the Myrtaceae tribes Kanieae, Myrteae and Tristanieae was surveyed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). Most Myrteae pollen were brevicolpate and granulate, which is unique within Myrtaceae, and these are most likely ancestral characters for this tribe. Two main pollen types were observed in tribe Kanieae, one form being with syncolpate colpi and a distinctive granulate exine, and the other with parasyncolpate colpi and a less ornamented exine. Genera Tristania and Thaleropia of tribe Tristanieae produce the smallest pollen in Myrtaceae, whereas Octamyrtus of tribe Myrteae produces the largest pollen observed in Myrtaceae.

Despite the widespread and common use of DNA-sequence data to estimate phylogenies, support or contest classifications, and identify species using barcodes, they are not commonly used as the primary or sole source of data for describing species. This is possibly due to actual or perceived pressure from peers to include morphology as the primary source of data for species descriptions. We find no compelling evidence to exclude DNA-only descriptions, or to insist that morphology always be included in a species description. It is not the data type per se that is important, but the science behind the taxonomic conclusions. Using alternative kinds of data for descriptions should not cause problems for taxonomy if links are kept with type specimens.

A taxonomic revision is presented of the Australasian legume genus Gompholobium Sm. The group includes 44 species, the following six of them newly described here: Gompholobium gairdnerianum Chappill, G. glutinosum Chappill, G. karijini Chappill, G. pungens Chappill, G. roseum Chappill and G. wonganense Chappill. Gompholobium asperulum (S.Moore) Crisp is recognised here as a nomenclatural synonym of G. shuttleworthii Meisn. The taxon that has been known under the former name is renamed as Gompholobium cinereum Chappill. Gompholobium venustum R.Br. var. laeve Benth. is recognised as a distinct species, G. cyaninum Chappill, the new epithet recognising the unique blue standard and wings of this species. Gompholobium aristatum var. muticum Benth., G. aristatum var. laxum Benth. and G. virgatum var. aspalathoides (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) Benth. are all raised to specific status. Gompholobium simplicifolium (F.Muell. & Tate) Crisp is excluded.

A taxonomic revision is presented of the Australian papilionoid legume genus Jacksonia R.Br. ex Sm. The group includes 74 species, the following 37 of them newly described here: Jacksonia acicularis Chappill, J. anthoclada Chappill, J. arenicola Chappill, J. arida Chappill, J. arnhemica Chappill, J. calcicola Chappill, J. chappilliae C.F. Wilkins, J. debilis Chappill, J. dendrospinosa Chappill, J. divisa Chappill, J. effusa Chappill, J. elongata Chappill, J. epiphyllum Chappill, J. flexuosa Chappill, J. gracillima Chappill, J. humilis Chappill, J. intricata Chappill, J. jackson Chappill, J. lanicarpa Chappill, J. lateritica Chappill, J. nutans Chappill, J. pendens Chappill, J. pungens Chappill, J. quairading Chappill, J. quinkanensis Chappill, J. ramulosa Chappill, J. reclinata Chappill, J. remota Chappill, J. rigida Chappill, J. rubra Chappill, J. rupestris Chappill, J. spicata Chappill, J. stellaris Chappill, J. tarinensis Chappill, J. velveta Chappill, J. venosa Chappill and J. viscosa Chappill.

As part of a continuing revision of the family Pittosporaceae in Australia, we present here a monograph of the genus Cheiranthera. This treatment recognises 10 species, of which one is reinstated (C. parviflora Benth.), two are raised in rank (C. borealis, C. simplicifolia) and one is described for the first time (C. telfordii).

The genus Pouteria Aublet is a pantropical group and many of its species produce high-quality timber and edible fruit. In 1991, on the basis of morphological characters, Pennington combined the genus Planchonella Pierre with Pouteria, expanding the latter genus to nine sections and 325 species. However, many Planchonella species were not included in his account and doubt remains about the generic limits of Pouteria sensu Pennington. This paper re-assesses the generic delimitation of Pouteria and its affinities with Planchonella from molecular data generated from the nuclear-encoded internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The analysis includes 22 Planchonella species and three Pouteria species sensu van Royen collected from Malesia and Australia, and seven additional Planchonella species from New Caledonia with molecular data available from GenBank. Other genera from Sapotaceae included in the analysis were Chrysophyllum, Niemeyera, Pichonia, Pycnandra and Xantolis (tribe Chrysophylleae) and Mimusops, Palaquium and Manilkara (outgroups from other tribes). The resulting ITS cladograms from both Bayesian and maximum parsimony analyses indicated that Malesian and Australasian Pouteria species are not monophyletic and comprise three separate lineages, therefore providing evidence against the broad circumscription of this genus by Pennington. Tertiary leaf venation type (reticulate, parallel or ramified), when mapped onto the phylogeny, correlated with these groupings, indicating that this character is taxonomically informative.

Phylogenetic trees can provide a stable basis for a higher-level classification of organisms that reflects evolutionary relationships. However, some lineages have a complex evolutionary history that involves explosive radiation or hybridisation. Such histories have become increasingly apparent with the use of DNA sequence data for phylogeny estimation and explain, in part, past difficulties in producing stable morphology-based classifications for some groups. We illustrate this situation by using the example of tribe Mirbelieae (Fabaceae), whose generic classification has been fraught for decades. In particular, we discuss a recent proposal to combine 19 of the 25 Mirbelieae genera into a single genus, Pultenaea sens. lat., and how we might find stable and consistent ways to squeeze something as complex as life into little boxes for our own convenience.

Twenty-five species of Pultenaea endemic to Western Australia are revised at and below species level. Three species (P. daena Orthia & Chappill, P. indira Orthia & Crisp, P. wudjariensis Orthia), three subspecies (P. calycina subsp. proxena Orthia & Chappill, P. indira subsp. monstrosita Orthia, P. indira subsp. pudoides Orthia) and two informal taxa [P. ericifolia 'southern' (Orthia 39), P. sp. Mt Lesueur (Beard 7827)] are described for the first time. The status of all varieties of P. verruculosa is changed: P. verruculosa var. brachyphylla (Turcz.) Benth. is reinstated at species level, P. verruculosa Turcz. var. verruculosa and P. verruculosa var. pilosa Benth. are placed in synonymy of Pultenaea verruculosa Turcz., and P. verruculosa var. recurva Benth. is found to be a nomen dubium. Three names in common usage are found to be illegitimate: P. conferta Benth. [now P. purpurea (Turcz.) Crisp & Orthia], P. obcordata (R.Br.) Benth. (now P. quaerita Orthia) and P. drummondii Meisn. (older name P. brachytropis Benth. reinstated). The Pultenaea species occurring in both western and eastern Australia are discussed and addenda made to the treatments previously published by de Kok and West (2003, 2004). The status of P. vestita R.Br. and P. juniperina Labill. as naturally occurring WA species is questioned.

Phylogenetic hypotheses are presented for Pultenaea based on cpDNA (trnL-F and ndhF) and nrDNA (ITS) sequence data. Pultenaea, as it is currently circumscribed, comprises six strongly supported lineages whose relationships with each other and 18 closely related genera are weak or conflicting among datasets. The lack of resolution among the six Pultenaea clades and their relatives appears to be the result of a rapid radiation, which is evident in molecular data from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes. The molecular data provide no support for the monophyly of Pultenaea as it currently stands. Given these results, Pultenaea could split into many smaller genera. We prefer the taxonomically stable alternative of subsuming all 19 genera currently recognised in Pultenaea sensu lato (= the Mirbelia group) into an expanded concept of Pultenaea that would comprise ∼470 species.

The generic classification of Hibisceae has long been unstable. A new understanding of the phylogeny of Hibisceae has found that genera from three tribes (Decaschistieae, Hibisceae and Malvavisceae) are nested within Hibiscus. We discuss issues that impinge upon the classification of Hibiscus in a general sense, including the genus concept, monophyletic and paraphyletic taxa, the use of characters and phylogenies to define taxa, and the current ranked system (based on the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature) v. a rank free alternative (the PhyloCode). We conclude that genera are subjective constructs that are only real in the sense of their phylogenetic origins (i.e. the taxa they denote may be real discoverable monophyletic groups), that paraphyletic taxa are not necessary in classification, that overemphasis of 'distinctive' characters in preference to phylogenies leads to recognition of paraphyletic taxa, and that there is no objective fixed and discoverable rank for any taxon. While the PhyloCode avoids some of these problems, it fails to adequately provide an alternative to the mnemonically powerful and information rich Linnean binomial and its advantages do not, in our opinion, outweigh the utility of the ICBN system when the latter employs only monophyletic taxa. With these conclusions in mind, we offer a brief set of guidelines for higher level classification and apply this to Hibiscus. The severe paraphyly in Hibiscus means that no classification using the ICBN system with exclusively monophyletic taxa will be free of major nomenclatural changes. We argue that including over 200 species from several genera within a broadly defined Hibiscus causes fewer nomenclatural changes overall than do alternative schemes, while promoting stability and attempting to minimise change to well known species. A hybrid formal ranked and informal rank free system is discussed and proposed for this group. A series of rank free names that are nested within Hibiscus s.l.

Cladistic analyses of morphological data were used to clarify the definition of Billardiera in the context of other genera of the family Pittosporaceae. These analyses indicate that Billardiera s.str. is monophyletic including the small genera Sollya and

Cladistic analyses of the family Pittosporaceae in Australia have indicated that the genus Marianthus needs reinstatement from Billardiera. Here, Marianthus is re-circumscribed and monographed. Fourteen species are recognised, excluding the now reinstated Rhytidosporum. In this treatment, two species are reinstated (M. microphyllus and M. tenuis), a new combination is made (M. mollis) and three species are described for the first time (M. dryandra, M. paralius and M. sylvaticus).

The endangered plant Zieria prostrata J.A.Armstrong (Rutaceae) is known from only four coastal headlands in northern New South Wales, Australia. The discovery of another headland Zieria form, Z. sp. aff. smithii, raised questions about the taxonomic status of Z. prostrata and its relationship to the Z. smithii Jacks. species complex. Morphometrics was used as the primary tool for investigating the relationship between Z. prostrata and the Z. smithii species complex, while a genetic study utilising RAPD markers was used to assess the validity of the distinct evolutionary lineages implied by the morphometric analysis. Z. prostrata formed a distinct group in phenetic space based upon the morphometric data, but with an incomplete discontinuity between it and nearby populations of Z. smithii based upon the genetic data, implying that Z. prostrata may be considered a distinct but incipient species. While the morphometric data set suggested that Z. sp. aff. smithii may be worthy of subspecific status, the genetic data revealed that each headland population is likely to have originated independently from inland populations of Z. smithii. Therefore, the morphological similarity among populations of Z. sp. aff. smithii does not reflect evolutionary relatedness, but rather is likely to be a consequence of parallelism and active or rapid speciation. Z. sp. aff. smithii is therefore considered to be a headland ecotype of Z. smithii.

As part of a revision of the family Pittosporaceae in Australia, a cladistic analysis was undertaken to resolve the phylogeny of Rhytidosporum and thereby clarify the taxonomic status of this small genus. Rhytidosporum is confirmed as a separate genus, and five species are now recognised: R. alpinum, R. diosmoides, R. inconspicuum, R. procumbens and R. prostratum. Rhytidosporum inconspicuum, found in subalpine areas mainly in Victoria and Tasmania, is described for the first time. Rhytidosporum diosmoides, which ranges from central New South Wales to southern Queensland, is reinstated at species level.

Bursaria is an endemic Australian genus of mostly spinescent, scruffy shrubs and trees, found in all but the most arid or alpine areas. Previous classifications include many infraspecific taxa and have proved unworkable in eastern Australia. This paper presents a revision of the genus. On the basis of phenetic analyses of morphometric characters the following taxa are now recognised: B. calcicola L.Cayzer, Crisp and l.Telford, B. incana Lindl., B. longisepala Domin, B. occidentalis E.M.Benn., B. reevesii L.Cayzer, Crisp and l. Telford, B. spinosa Cav. subsp, lasiophylla (E.M.Benn.) L.Cayzer, Crisp and I. Telford, B. spinosa subsp, spinosa and B. tenuifolia F.M.Bail. Two are described as new (B. calcicola, B. reevesii), and one is changed in rank: B. spinosa subsp, lasiophylla (formerly B. lasiophylla E.M.Benn.). None of the other infraspecific taxa recognised previously is supported by our analyses.

Leptosema has 13 species with pea-flowers modified for bird-pollination. It is endemic to Australia, being distributed widely in the west, centre, north and north-east of the continent. This paper is a monograph of the genus. Updated cladistic and biogeographic analyses are presented and, based on the former, a new classification is formalised. Taxa described as new are Leptosema sect. Leptosema, L. ser. Callipetalum, L. cervicorne Crisp, L. chapmanii Crisp, L. villosum Crisp, L. sect. Oolobium Crisp and L. ser. Pereostemon Crisp. New combinations or ranks are made for L. aphyllum (Hook.) Crisp, L. macrocarpum (Benth.) Crisp, L. tomentosum (Benth.) Crisp, L. uniflorum (R.Br. ex Benth.) Crisp, and L. sect. Burgesia (F.Muell.) Crisp. Lectotypes are chosen for the synonyms Brachysema aphyllum Hook., B. chambersii (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth., B. macrocarpum Benth., B. oxylobioides (F.Muell.) Benth., B. uniflorum R.Br. ex Benth., Burgesia homaloclada F.Muell., Jacksonia anomala Ewart and Morrison, J. petrophiloides W.Fitzg. and Templetonia regina J.L.Drumm.