Plant Names: A Guide to Botanical Nomenclature

Description

Plant Names is a plain English guide to the use of plant names and the conventions for writing them as governed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. It covers the naming of wild plants, plants modified by humans, why plant names change, their pronunciation and hints to help remember them. The final section provides a detailed guide to web sites and published resources useful to people using plant names. The book incorporates the latest information in the most recently published Botanical and Cultivated Plant Codes, both of which are technical scientific publications that are difficult to read for all but the most dedicated botanists and horticulturists. From botanists to publishers, professional horticulturists, nurserymen, hobby gardeners and anyone interested in plant names, this book is an invaluable guide to using the potentially confusing array of scientific, commercial and common names. Contents Acknowledgements Foreword Foreword to the third edition Introduction to the Codes of plant nomenclature Why do we have two Codes? Part 1 – Wild Plants Common names Structure Origin Common names as an alternative to botanical names Historical and cultural value Latin names, the binomial system and plant classification The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature Principles of the Botanical Code The botanical hierarchy The nested hierarchy Ranks and taxa Order Family Genus Species Subspecies Variety Form Natural hybrids Name changes Nomenclatural changes Taxonomic changes Misidentifications and misapplied names What name to use? Part 2 – Cultivated Plants and Cultigens The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants Cultivated plants The cultigen Which plants and which names are covered by which Code? Cultigens and the Cultivated Plant Code Principles of the Cultivated Plant Code Cultigen classification The cultigen hierarchy Ranks Taxa Kinds of cultigen Cultivars Groups Graft-chimaeras Cultigen hybrids Naming wild plants brought into cultivation Wild plants in cultivation named under the Botanical Code only Wild plants in cultivation that are given cultivar names Wild plants named separately by botanists and horticulturists Publishing cultigen names Publication Establishment Acceptance Formation of cultivar and Group epithets Use of Latin for cultigen epithets Translation, transliteration and transcription Priority Authors Nomenclatural Standards The denomination class and the replication of names New names for existing cultivars Procedure for introducing a new cultivar Is the plant genuinely new? Does it clearly have some merit over plants already available? Can the special characters that distinguish it be reproduced? Would you like to take economic advantage of the find? How do I choose a new name? Are there any special requirements for the new cultivar to be officiallyrecognised? Cultivar registration Part 3 – Using Plant Names Writing plant names Family name Genus name Specific epithet Species name Subspecies Variety Form Cultivated variety (cultivar) Hybrids Group names Collective names and greges (grexes) Graft-chimaeras Synonyms Uncertain names Common names Hyphens Spelling The structure of Latin names Pronunciation Which Latin do we use? General guidelines Stress on syllables Short and long vowels People and places Remembering names Reading Pronunciation Word derivations Recommended format for nursery plant labels Part 4 – Plant Name Resources Books and websites to help with plant names Accurate lists of botanical names Families Genera Lists of validly published names, not necessarily current Floras and checklists of currently accepted plant names Australia Pacific Asia Europe North and South America Africa Horticultural floras and checklists International cultivar registration authorities Authors of plant names Botanical and Cultivated Plant Codes Botanical Latin, pronunciation, name derivations and meanings Botanic gardens and herbaria Classification systems Plant Breeder’s Rights International Asia-Pacific Europe North America Trademarks Asia-Pacific Europe North America Appendix Examples of different kinds of plant names according to the Codes, including different kinds of plants and where they are gowing Glossary References Index