The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature

(ICBN)

• Set of rules and recommendations

dealing with the formal botanical
names of plants
• Its intent is that each taxonomic
group ("taxon", plural "taxa") of
plants has only one correct name
that is accepted worldwide
• Scientist name is that it is an
identifier
• The ICBN sets the formal starting date of plant
nomenclature at 1 May 1753, the publication
of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus
• The ICBN can only be changed by an
International Botanical Congress (IBC), with
the International Association for Plant
Taxonomy
• Routinely meetings:
i. Shenzhen, China Code 2017
ii. Vienna Code (2006),
iii. St Louis Code (2000)
iv. Tokyo Code (1994)
• Each new edition supersedes the earlier
editions and is retroactive back to 1753,
except where expressly limited
• Botanical nomenclature is independent of
zoological and bacteriological nomenclature
• For organisms traditionally studied by
botanists.
• This includes blue-green algae
(Cyanobacteria); fungi, and slime moulds;
photosynthetic protists and taxonomically
related non-photosynthetic groups.
• For the naming of cultivated plants there is
a separate code, the International Code of
Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
• Under the authority- International
Commission for the Nomenclature of
Cultivated Plants
 The purpose

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
Principle
Principle I : Straightforward Principle

• Botanical nomenclature is independent

of zoological and bacteriological
nomenclature.
• The Code applies equally to names of
taxonomic groups treated as plants
whether or not these groups were
originally so treated
Principle II : Type Principle

• The application of names of

taxonomic groups is
determined by means of
nomenclatural types.
• Herbarium samples are used
to ascertain types
Holotype:
Specimen or other element designated by the author or used by him as the
nomenclatural type. A holotype is a specimen that has been designated the nomenclatural type of a name by the
person creating the name.
Isotype:
This is a duplicate of the holotype.
Syntype:
When more than one specimen are cited by the author without mentioning which is the holotype, each
specimen is designated as a Syntype. All the designated specimens, including their duplicates, are referred to as
syntypes
Paratype:
Specimens cited along with the holotype are designated as Para- types.
Lectotype:
This is a substitute of the holotype when that is lost and is to be selected from the isotypes. When no holotype
was designated by the author a specimen from the original material is selected to be the Lectotype. If the
person who originally published a particular name did not designate a holotype, a later taxonomist may select a
specimen to serve as the nomenclatural type. This specimen then becomes what is called the lectotype
Neotype:
When all original materials are missing a Neotype is selected from other materials. If the holotype or lectotype
is destroyed or lost, a new type specimen can be selected. Such replacement types are called neotypes.
Topotype:
Specimen of a species collected at the same locality as the holotype.
An epitype is a specimen selected to be the nomenclatural type of name for which there is a holotype, lectotype,
or neotype available.
Principle III : Priority Principle

The nomenclature of a taxonomic

group is based upon priority of
publication.
Principle IV : Uniqueness Principle

• Each taxonomic group with a

particular circumscription, position,
and rank can bear only one correct
name, the earliest that is in
accordance with the rules, except in
special cases.
Principle V : As-it-should-be Principle

• Scientific names of taxonomic groups

are treated as Latin regardless of their
derivation.
Principle VI : Retroactivity Principle

• The Rules of nomenclature are

retroactive unless expressly limited.
The group of closely related:
families is known as order
 Exceptions

Some of the families do not end with -aceae, so

they are provided with alternative names like:-

1. Cruciferae (Mustard) – Brassicaceae

2. Compositae (Daisy) – Asteraceae
3. Graminae (Grasses) – Poaceae
4. Guttiferae (St. John’s Wort) – Clusiaceae
5. Leguminosae (Pea) – Fabaceae
6. Palmae (Palm) – Arecaceae
7. Umbelliferae (Carrot) – Apiaceae
8. Labiatae (Mint)- Lamiaceae
taxonomic ranks are variety, species, genus, family, order, class
 Taxonomic Ranks

The group of closely related:-

• Varieties is known as Species

• Species is known as Genus
• Genus is now as Family
• Families is known as Order
• Orders is known as Class and
• Classes is known Phylum or Division
 Binomial Nomenclature
Grandiflora' is not the name of a species. It has to be combined with a
generic name to form the name of a species, as in Magnolia grandiflora.
The word 'grandiflora' is what we call the specific epithet. It states which
species of Magnolia is under discussion. Specific epithets are often
adjectives that describe some attribute of the plant (it helps to learn a little
Latin - 'grandiflora' means large fowered), but may refer to the:-
1. Habitat of a species (pratensis- of fields, lacustris- of lakes, Saxicola- of
rocky places)
2. Place where the species occurs (chinensis, sikkimansis, americana
europaea, canadensis), or
3. Person that is somehow connected to the species (the connection may
be remote) - goswamii (referring a single male person named Goswami),
goswamiae (referring to a single female person named Goswami),
goswamiorum (referring to 2 or more people, one of whom – and possibly
only 1 out of a 100 was male) or goswamiarum (referring to 2 or more
people with not even one male among them).
Introduction to ICBN
The process of naming plants based on international rules proposed by botanists to ensure stable and universal system
is called botanical nomenclature. It is an essential process to overcome the problems of common names. The botanists
agreed to lay down certain rules and conditions. The main suggestion was that language should be in Latin as it is not a
national language of any country and moreover it is dead language. A lot of previous literature is written in Latin. The
ICBN is an agreement between botanists around the world to follow Binomial system of naming.

History of ICBN
Before the middle of 18th century the names of plants were polynomials consisting of several words. Linnaeus proposed
elementary rules in his book named ‘Philosophia botanica’ in 1751. In 1813 A.P. de Candolle proposed details of the
rules regarding plant nomenclature in Theorie elementaire de la botanique. In 1867, Alphonse de candolle, son of A.P.
de candolle convened a meeting of all botanists to present these rules. This first Botanical congress was held at Paris and
the laws framed therein were called as Paris code.
In 1930, the fifth International Botanical Congress (IBC) was held in England to frame rules and regulations for naming
plants. In July 1975, twelfth meeting was held at Leningrad, USSR. Based on the resolutions of these meetings, the
existing system of International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) was adapted from 1978. The IBC meets every 5
to 6 years to decide any additions or changes in the naming and numbering of plants. The 18th IBC congress was held at
Melbourne in 2011 and the latest 19th IBC was held in Shenzen, China in July 2017.