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Title: International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Vienna Code) Journal or equivalent: Book

Author
item MCNEIL, JOHN - CANADA
item BARRIE, FRED - GERMANY
item DEMOULIN, VINCE - BELGIUM
item HAWKSWORTH, DAVID - SPAIN
item Wiersema, John

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/21/2006
Publication Date: 8/31/2006
Citation: McNeill, J., Barrie, F.R. , Burdet, H.M., Demoulin, V., Hawksworth, D.J., Marhold, K., Nicolson, D.H., Prado, J., Silva, P.C., Skog, J.E., Wiersema, J. H., Turland, N. J., 2006. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Vienna Code) adopted by the Seventh International Botanical Congress Vienna, Austria, July 2005. A.R.G. Gantner Velag, Ruggell, Liechtenstein. 568 pp.

Interpretive Summary: Accurate scientific names of plants are essential for communication about them and are especially important for international exchange of agricultural, horticultural and forest plants. In order to ensure that the scientific names of plants do not change at random, a set of rules have been developed about how scientific names should be applied. This set of rules is periodically reviewed and altered when a majority of botanists decide that this would be useful. This manuscript is the newly revised set of rules that govern the naming of plants. It will be used by botanists worldwide to determine the accurate scientific names of plants assuring effective and accurate communication especially about plants used in trade.

Technical Abstract: Botany requires a precise and simple system of nomenclature used by botanists in all countries, dealing on the one hand with the terms that denote the ranks of taxonomic groups or units, and on the other hand with the scientific names that are applied to the individual taxonomic groups of plants. The purpose of giving a name to a taxonomic group is not to indicate its characters or history, but to supply a means of referring to it and to indicate its taxonomic rank. This International Code of Botanical Nomenclature aims at providing a stable method of naming taxonomic groups, avoiding and rejecting the use of names that may cause error or ambiguity or throw science into confusion. Next in importance is the avoidance of the useless creation of names. Other considerations, such as absolute grammatical correctness, regularity or euphony of names, more or less prevailing custom, regard for persons, etc., notwithstanding their undeniable importance, are relatively secondary.