STANDARD SPECIMENS FOR CULTIVARS: THE WAY FORWARD

The Herbarium of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at Wisley has been designating herbarium specimens as Standards for many years. Since the recommendations made in the 1995 edition of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, there has been a systematic search for Standards in the RHS specimen and image collections. British nurserymen and plant breeders have been contacted and are actively encouraged to supply material and images of new cultivars. Lists of RHS designated Standards are published. A web site has been created which can be searched for the Standards held at Wisley with supporting illustrations of the living plants. The process has highlighted a number of problems which have been overcome and the solutions may help others carrying out similar procedures. It has also emphasised the importance of Standards for the work of horticultural taxonomists, nurserymen and for the correct and stable nomenclature of ornamental plants.