International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants

• Botanical nomenclature is independent of zoological, bacteriological, and viral nomenclature (see Nomenclature codes). • A botanical name is fixed to a taxon by a type. This is almost invariably dried plant material and is usually deposited and preserved in a herbarium, although it may also be an image or a preserved culture. Some type collections can be viewed online at the websites of the herbaria in question. • A guiding principle in botanical nomenclature is priority, the first publication of a name for a taxon. The formal starting date for purposes of priority is 1 May 1753, the publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus. However, to avoid undesirable (destabilizing) effects of strict enforcement of priority, conservation of family, genus, and species names is possible. • The intent of the Code is that each taxonomic group ("taxon", plural "taxa") of plants has only one correct name that is accepted worldwide, provided that it has the same circumscription, position and rank. The value of a scientific name is that it is an identifier; it is not necessarily of descriptive value. • Names of taxa are treated as Latin. • The rules of nomenclature are retroactive unless there is an explicit statement that this does not apply. == History ==

The rules governing botanical nomenclature have a long and tumultuous history, dating back to dissatisfaction with rules that were established in 1843 to govern zoological nomenclature. The first set of international rules was the ("Laws of botanical nomenclature") that was adopted as the "best guide to follow for botanical nomenclature" Unlike modern Codes, it contained recommendations for naming to serve as the basis for discussions on the controversial points of nomenclature, rather than obligatory rules for validly published and legitimate names within the Code. • The Code now permits electronic-only publication of names of new taxa; no longer will it be a requirement to deposit some paper copies in libraries. • The requirement for a Latin validating diagnosis or description was changed to allow either English or Latin for these essential components of the publication of a new name (Article 39). • "One fungus, one name" and "one fossil, one name" are important changes; the concepts of anamorph and teleomorph (for fungi) and morphotaxa (for fossils) have been eliminated. • As an experiment with "registration of names", new fungal descriptions require the use of an identifier from "a recognized repository"; there are three recognized repositories, Index Fungorum, MycoBank, and Fungal Names. ==Versions==

All the versions are listed below. == See also ==