The
International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (
ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal
botanical nameA botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
s that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "traditionally treated as plants".
, Preamble, para. 7 It was formerly called the
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN); the name was changed at the
International Botanical CongressInternational Botanical Congress is a large-scale meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, from all over the world. Authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies , congresses are held every six years with the venue circulating around the world. The XVIII...
in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in July 2011 as part of the
Melbourne Code which replaces the
Vienna Code of 2005. As with previous codes, the documentation of the code in its final form takes some time to prepare after the congress. Preliminary wording of some of the articles with the most significant changes has been published in September 2011.
The name of the
Code is partly capitalized and partly not. The lower-case for "algae, fungi, and plants" indicates that these terms are not formal names of
cladeA clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
s, but indicate groups of organisms that were historically known by these names and traditionally studied by
botanistsBotany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
,
mycologistsMycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
, and
phycologistsPhycology is the scientific study of algae. Phycology is a branch of life science and often is regarded as a subdiscipline of botany....
. This includes blue-green algae (
Cyanobacteria); fungi, including chytrids, oomycetes, and
slime mouldSlime mold or mould is a broad term describing protists that use spores to reproduce. Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi, but are no longer considered part of this kingdom....
s;
photosyntheticPhotosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
protists and
taxonomicallyAlpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...
related non-photosynthetic groups. There are special provisions in the
ICN for some of these groups, as there are for
fossilFossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s.
, Preamble, para. 7
The
ICN can only be changed by an
International Botanical CongressInternational Botanical Congress is a large-scale meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, from all over the world. Authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies , congresses are held every six years with the venue circulating around the world. The XVIII...
(IBC), with the
International Association for Plant TaxonomyThe International Association for Plant Taxonomy promotes an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitates international communication of research between botanists, and oversees matters of uniformity and stability in plant names . The IAPT was founded on July 18, 1950 at the Seventh...
providing the supporting infrastructure. Each new edition supersedes the earlier editions and is retroactive back to 1753, except where different starting dates are specified.
, Principle VI
For the naming of cultivated plants there is a separate code, the
International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated PlantsThe International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants regulates the names of cultigens...
which gives rules and recommendations that supplement the
ICN.
Principles
- Botanical nomenclature is independent of zoological, bacteriological, and viral nomenclature (see Nomenclature codes
Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern biological taxonomic nomenclature, each in their own broad field of organisms...
).
- A botanical name is fixed to a taxon by a type., Article 7 This is almost invariably dried plant material and is usually deposited and preserved in a herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
, although it may also be an image or a preserved culture. Some type collections can be viewed online at the websites of the herbaria in question.
- A guiding principle in botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical...
is priority, the first publication of a name for a taxon., Principle IIII, but the formal starting date for purposes of priority is 1 May 1753, the publication of Species PlantarumSpecies Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. This means that the first names to be considered validly published in botany are those that appear...
by LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
. However, to avoid undesirable (destabilizing) effects of strict enforcement of priority, conservation of family, genus, and species names is possible.
- The intent of the Code is that each taxonomic group ("taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
", plural "taxa") of plants has only one correct nameIn botany, the correct name according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, position and rank. Determining whether a name is correct is a complex procedure...
that is accepted worldwide, provided that it has the same circumscriptionIn taxonomy, circumscription is the definition of the limits of a taxonomic group of organisms. One goal of taxonomy is to achieve a stable circumscription for every taxonomic group. Achieving stability can be simple or difficult....
, position and rankIn biological classification, rank is the level in a taxonomic hierarchy. Examples of taxonomic ranks are species, genus, family, and class. Each rank subsumes under it a number of less general categories...
., Principle IV The value of a scientific name is that it is an identifierAn identifier is a name that identifies either a unique object or a unique class of objects, where the "object" or class may be an idea, physical [countable] object , or physical [noncountable] substance...
; it is not necessarily of descriptive value.
- Names of taxa are treated as Latin.
- The rules of nomenclature are retroactive unless there is an explicit statement that this does not apply.
History
The first set of international rules governing the naming of plants was created at the second International Botanical Congress in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1905. These rules were published as the
Règles internationales de la Nomenclature botanique adoptées par le Congrès International de Botanique de Vienne 1905 (or in English,
International rules of Botanical Nomenclature adopted by the International Botanical Conference of Vienna 1905). Informally they are referred to as the
Vienna Rules (not to be confused with the
Vienna Code).
Subsequent meetings of the International Botanical Congress have produced revised versions of these
Rules, later called the
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Some important versions are listed below.
| Year of adoption | Informal name |
| 1905 |
Vienna Rules |
| 1935 |
Cambridge Rules |
| 1952 |
Stockholm Code |
| 1969 |
Seattle Code |
| 1975 |
Leningrad Code |
| 1981 |
Sydney Code |
| 1987 |
Berlin Code |
| 1993 |
Tokyo Code |
| 2005 |
Vienna Code |
| 2011 |
Melbourne Code |
The Nomenclature Section held just before the 18th International Botanical Congress in Melbourne, Australia in July 2011 saw sweeping changes to the way scientists name new plants, algae, and fungi.
- For the first time in history the Code will permit electronic-only publication of names of new taxa; no longer will it be required to deposit some paper copies in libraries.
- The requirement for a Latin validating diagnosis or description was changed to allow either English or Latin for these essential components of the publication of a new name.
- “One fungus, one name” and "one fossil, one name" are important changes for fungi and for fossils; the concepts of anamorph and teleomorph (for fungi), and morphotaxa (for fossils) have been eliminated.
- As an experiment with "registration of names", new fungal descriptions will require the use of an identifier from "a recognized repository"; the only repository so far recognized is MycoBank
MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures fungal biodiversity center in Utrecht....
.
- The title of the Code was broadened to make explicit that it applies not only to plants, but also to algae and fungi.
See also
Specific to botany
- Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
- Botanical nomenclature
Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical...
- Specific name (botany)
- International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants regulates the names of cultigens...
- International Plant Names Index
- International Association for Plant Taxonomy
The International Association for Plant Taxonomy promotes an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitates international communication of research between botanists, and oversees matters of uniformity and stability in plant names . The IAPT was founded on July 18, 1950 at the Seventh...
- Correct name (botany)
In botany, the correct name according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, position and rank. Determining whether a name is correct is a complex procedure...
- Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
- Infraspecific name (botany)
In botany, an infraspecific name is the name for any taxon below the rank of species, i.e. an infraspecific taxon. The scientific names of plants are regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
More general
- Scientific classification
- Binomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
- Hybrid name
In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name. The ICBN provides the following options in dealing with a hybrid:...
- Nomenclature codes
Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern biological taxonomic nomenclature, each in their own broad field of organisms...