CONCEPTS AND THOUGHTS TOWARDS REVISION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CODE OF NOMENCLATURE FOR CULTIVATED PLANTS SEVENTH EDITION

In order for the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP or the Code) to serve its intended purpose, it should combine precision with plainness. Some conceptual issues and thoughts in regard to the revision of the current seventh edition of the Code are discussed: • It should be made explicit that the Code also applies to cultivated or cultured algae and fungi. • The possibility of naming cultivated plants under both the Botanical Code and the Cultivated Plant Code at the same time or at different times should be allowed. • “Culti-group” is suggested as a more distinct term for “Group”. • The definition of “name” should be removed to avoid conflict with names in other senses. • The terms cultivar and Culti-group names should be used in place of cultivar and Group epithets for plainness and to avoid the contradiction that a scientific name of a cultivated plant may contain a common name. • “Common name” should be used in its broad sense. • The use of epithets apart from Latin or common names should be allowed if no confusion is possible. • The current rule against using common name of the genus or nothogenus to which a cultivar is assigned as part of the cultivar epithet should be removed or relaxed. • While translated cultivar epithets are not to be used as equivalents of the original, they nevertheless are and will be used widely as trade designations, and their use should be better regulated. • Problems in rendering Chinese, Japanese and Russian cultivar epithets in Roman script and translation, transliteration and transcription in reverse are discussed. • Improvements in format and style of the Code for consistency and conformity to common practice are also suggested.