International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants

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The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated or International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (short ICNCP ) regulates the uniform naming of cultivated varieties . It was developed by William Thomas Stearn and approved by the 13th International Horticultural Congress in London in 1952. Since then it has been revised several times. The current 9th version is from 2016.

The code is intended to ensure that cultivated plants can be clearly identified by their names and is used for communication between breeders , gardeners and plant lovers, even across national and language borders. The ICNCP only deals with the names of the varieties, not their classification, characteristics or legal aspects of plant variety protection .

There are binding rules for naming ornamental and useful plants

Ranks in the ICNCP

In addition to the ICBN, the ICNCP only provides two categories for the naming of cultivated plants , namely cultivar (= variety) and group (cultivar group or group of varieties). These ranks can be placed anywhere within a genera , species , subspecies , variety or shape . In addition, one and the same cultivar can belong to different cultivar groups. The ICNCP thus primarily fulfills requirements for practicability and is less scientifically oriented than the ICBN with its hierarchically structured system of ranks.

Spelling of cultivar names

Cultivars are named by adding a cultivar epithet to the scientific plant name in italics . This is written with a capital letter, in normal font and also in single upper quotation marks . The different fonts are intended to prevent cultivar names from being confused with scientific plant names.

Names of cultivars that have emerged from a known species consist of the species name and the cultivar epithet.

  • Example: Phlox drummondii 'Sternenzauber'

In the case of cultivars that have a more complex origin and that cannot be assigned to a single species but only to a genus, the specific epithet is omitted.

  • Example: Rhododendron 'Gartendirektor Rieger'

Cultivars of simple hybrid species whose parents belong to the same genus are written with the multiplication cross "×" in front of the specific epithet.

  • Example: Heuchera × brizoides 'Scintillation' (emerged from a hybrid of Heuchera sanguinea and Heuchera americana )

For cultivars that have arisen from generic bastards, the "×" is placed in front of the name.

  • Example: × Sorbaronia 'Titan' (the parents belong to the genera Sorbus and Aronia )

Cultivars that are based on graft chimeras are written with the plus sign "+" in front of the genus name.

  • Example: + Crataegomespilus potsdamensis 'Monekto'

Selection of important rules for cultivar names

  • The name may only appear once within the corresponding plant group (genus).
  • The name should come from a living language, at least not from Latin .
  • The name must be at least two and no more than 30 characters long.
  • The name cannot contain the scientific name or the common name of the plant.
  • Certain parts of the name are not permitted. These include terms such as “cultivar”, “form”, “group”, “hybrid”, “mixture”, “seedling”, “selection”, “series”, “variety”, “variety”, “modified”, “improved” ". This restriction applies to equivalent words in all languages.
  • In addition to the letters of the alphabet, Arabic numerals and the following special characters are allowed in the name: comma, period, hyphen, exclamation mark, apostrophe, slash and backslash.
  • Exaggerations like “best”, “biggest”, “most colorful” are not allowed.
  • Simple descriptive words and offensive words should be avoided.
  • The naming of a living person requires the express consent of that person.
  • Brand names (protected trade names ) may not be used as variety names.

In addition to the binding rules, there are further recommendations for the creation of new cultivar names: The names should be short, easy to pronounce and easy to write. They should not arouse misleading associations or simulate ancestry or origin that is not actually given.

Publication and registration

New cultivar names must be published or officially registered in order to have priority . The publication also includes a description . This must name the characteristics in which the new variety differs from similar known varieties. It is also recommended to publish images and deposit herbarium specimens in public collections , similar to what is customary for the new description of wild plants.

In many genera there are hundreds or thousands of cultivar names due to long breeding traditions. In order to have a better overview, official variety registers have been set up for many groups of plants . They are administered and updated by the so-called International Cultivar Registration Authorities (ICRAs for short). The institutions commissioned with the update provide information about names that have already been assigned and help breeders choose new names.

Cultivar names and trade names

Sometimes the correct cultivar name is not very clear or difficult to remember, so that breeders invent additional trade names (brand names) for trade and sale. From the point of view of commercial use, a brand name has the advantage that it can be legally protected and thus used exclusively, similar to a patent . This is excluded for cultivar names. They must be allowed to be used without restriction in all countries. For this reason, there is more than one name for many traded varieties, namely the cultivar name formed according to the rules of the ICNCP and one or more trade names, which may only be used with the permission of the rights holder.

For example, the correct cultivar name for a weigela with bronze colored foliage is Weigela 'Bokrashine'; However, it is mainly sold under the name Weigela 'Naomi Campbell' - dealers hope for higher sales with such names. Such trade names are not regulated by the ICNCP, nor do they have any meaning from the standpoint of botanical nomenclature. In practice, however, they cannot be ignored, as many growers, plant lovers and traders identify the corresponding varieties with the trade names rather than with the less well-known cultivar names. In addition, most customers are unaware of the difference between cultivar names and trade names.

The coexistence of cultivar and trade names is the cause of considerable nomenclature confusion in the field of ornamental and useful plants. In order to be able to recognize trade names, they should be in a different font, e.g. B. in capitals and must not be placed in single quotation marks. However, large parts of the gardening trade disregard this regulation.

literature

  • ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science; Ed.): International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, 7th edition. In: Acta Horticulturae Volume 647, 2004. ISBN 90-6605-527-8 .
  • ISHS (International Society for Horticultural Science; Ed.): International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, 9th Edition. Scripta Horticulturae 18 (2016). ISBN 978-94-6261-116-0 .
  • J. Ochsmann: Some notes on problems of taxonomy and nomenclature of cultivated plants - PDF at GENRES, Information System Genetic Resources
  • William T. Stearn: ICNCP - It all started in 1952 or did it? International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants - PDF at Bromeliad Society International

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ ISHS Secretariat: ICNCP - International Code for the Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (9th edition). International Society for Horticultural Science, June 15, 2016, accessed June 17, 2019 .
  2. ↑ International Cultivar Registration Authorities - online at ISHS.