It's a question often raised because plants from these genera look similar and grow together. Isopogons and petrophiles can be difficult to tell apart, with similarities greatly outnumbering the differences. Both in the Proteaceae family, they are characterised by the presence of numerous flowers usually in condensed cones, as well as a true floral tube and a unique pollen presenter close to the terminal stigma. Their most obvious feature is the 'ball on a stick' (i.e. the cones on their stems). Hence the common names drumsticks or conesticks.
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