the dune conebush was first described by carl linnaeus in 1762, who named it "protea conifera". in 1821, johan link described another specimen and called it "leucadendron inflexum". in 1856, carl meissner, reassigned linnaeus´s species to the genus "leucadendron", creating the new combination "l. coniferum". in 1943, salter described "leucadendron sabulosum". these names are now considered synonymous.