The leaf economics spectrum (LES) is a prominent ecophysiological paradigm that describes global variation in leaf physiology across plant ecological strategies using a handful of key traits. Nearly a decade ago, Shipley et al. (2006) used structural equation modelling to explore the causal functional relationships among LES traits that give rise to their strong global covariation. They concluded that an unmeasured trait drives LES covariation, sparking efforts to identify the latent physiological trait underlying the ‘origin’ of the LES. Here, we use newly developed phylogenetic structural equation modelling approaches to reassess these conclusions using both global LES data as well as data collected across scales in the genus Helianthus. For global LES data, accounting for phylogenetic non-independence indicates that no additional unmeasured traits are required to explain LES covariation. Across datasets in Helianthus, trait relationships are highly variable, indicating that global-scale models may poorly describe LES covariation at non-global scales. Dataset S1. All data used for modeling in this study.All datasets used for modeling in this study, including: (1) the full GLOPNET dataset with missing data, (2) GLOPNET complete cases, (3) GLOPNET complete cases for rosids, (3) GLOPNET complete cases for asterids, (4) Population means for macroevolutionary analysis across the genus Helianthus [from Mason et al., 2015 - Evolution], (5) Family means for microevolutionary analysis among populations in Helianthus anomalus [from Brouillette et al., 2014 - New Phytologist], (6) Ontogenetic data across stages in Helianthus annuus [from Mason et al., 2013 - JXB], (7) Ontogenetic data across stages in Helianthus mollis [from Mason et al., 2013 - JXB], (8) Ontogenetic data across stages in Helianthus radula [from Mason et al., 2013 - JXB].Dataset S1.xls