THE LINNAEAN PLANT NAME TYPIFICATION PROJECT AND CULTIVATED PLANTS

The Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project has as its aim the production of an annotated catalogue of all the plant names published by Linnaeus at the ranks of species and variety, together with their typifications. A very large proportion of the world's important crop and horticultural plants trace their formal nomenclature back to names coined by Linnaeus. It is therefore important that the application of these names remains unambiguous. Botanical nomenclature is governed by the type method, and as most Linnaean names are based on more than a single element, lectotypification is usually necessary. Existing typifications, scattered widely through the literature, are being assessed critically and, where none exist, typifications are being made in close collaboration with specialists in the plant groups concerned. The project has now been under way for nearly four years, funded initially by the Science and Engineering Research Council and now by the British Museum (Natural History). At least some notes have been recorded on over 6 000 Linnaean names, and an estimated 1 500 acceptable formal lectotypifications have been recorded, many of them for cultivated plants. The data gathered so far have been recorded on standard forms, and a pilot scheme for computerisation of records is being tested. Information and assistance concerning the typification of Linnaean names is readily available, and the author would welcome collaboration with specialists in all groups of cultivated plants.