Correct name

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In botany, the correct name according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, position and rank. [1] Determining whether a name is correct is a complex procedure. [2] The name must be validly published, a process which is defined in no less than 16 Articles of the ICN. [3] It must also be "legitimate", which imposes some further requirements. [4] If there are two or more legitimate names for the same taxon (with the same circumscription, position and rank), then the correct name is the one which has priority, i.e. it was published earliest, [5] although names may be conserved if they have been very widely used. Validly published names other than the correct name are called synonyms. [6] Since taxonomists may disagree as to the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, there can be more than one correct name for a particular plant. These may also be called synonyms.

Contents

The correct name has only one correct spelling, which will generally be the original spelling (although certain limited corrections are allowed). Other spellings are called orthographical variants. [7]

The zoological equivalent of "correct name" is "valid name".

Example

Linnaeus' Adenanthera falcataria has many other names Starr 070215-4478 Falcataria moluccana.jpg
Linnaeus' Adenanthera falcataria has many other names

Different taxonomic placements may well lead to different correct names. For example, the earliest name for the fastest growing tree in the world is Adenanthera falcataria L. The "L." stands for "Linnaeus" who first validly published the name. Adenanthera falcataria is thus one of the correct names for this plant. There are other correct names, based on different taxonomic treatments.

The four names Adenanthera falcataria, Albizia falcataria, Paraserianthes falcataria and Falcataria falcata can each be correct given different taxonomic opinions that put the plant in each of these four genera. Which is the 'right' genus is a problem for taxonomy, not nomenclature. Thus this tree species will have a different correct botanical name for different people.

Prokaryotes

The Prokaryotic Code inherits many concepts, including that of a "correct name", from the ICN. As with the botanical concept, different taxonomists may have different concepts of a genus, leading to different "correct names". The List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) tries to be consistent with its approach to selecting correct names. The LPSN notes that although later combinations tend to be based on better phylogenomic data, just taking "the last valid combination" is not sufficient because of possible inconsistencies in concepts. [12]

See also

(specific to botany)

(more general)

Related Research Articles

<i>International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants</i> Code of scientific nomenclature

The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "traditionally treated as algae, fungi, or plants". It was formerly called the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN); the name was changed at the International Botanical Congress in Melbourne in July 2011 as part of the Melbourne Code which replaced the Vienna Code of 2005.

<i>Albizia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae

Albizia is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and Australia, but mostly in the Old World tropics. In some locations, some species are considered weeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botanical name</span> Scientific name for a plant, alga or fungus

A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). The code of nomenclature covers "all organisms traditionally treated as algae, fungi, or plants, whether fossil or non-fossil, including blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria), chytrids, oomycetes, slime moulds and photosynthetic protists with their taxonomically related non-photosynthetic groups ."

Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature is Linnaeus' Species Plantarum of 1753. Botanical nomenclature is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), which replaces the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). Fossil plants are also covered by the code of nomenclature.

Nomenclature codes or codes of nomenclature are the various rulebooks that govern the naming of living organisms. Standardizing the scientific names of biological organisms allows researchers to discuss findings.

In botany, an infraspecific name is the scientific name for any taxon below the rank of species, i.e. an infraspecific taxon or infraspecies. A "taxon", plural "taxa", is a group of organisms to be given a particular name. The scientific names of botanical taxa are regulated by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). This specifies a three part name for infraspecific taxa, plus a connecting term to indicate the rank of the name. An example of such a name is Astrophytum myriostigma subvar. glabrum, the name of a subvariety of the species Astrophytum myriostigma.

A Group is a formal category in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) used for cultivated plants (cultivars) that share a defined characteristic. It is represented in a botanical name by the symbol Group or Gp. "Group" or "Gp" is always written with a capital G in a botanical name, or epithet. The Group is not italicized in a plant's name. The ICNCP introduced the term and symbol "Group" in 2004, as a replacement for the lengthy and hyphenated "cultivar-group", which had previously been the category's name since 1969. For the old name "cultivar-group", the non-standard abbreviation cv. group or cv. Group is also sometimes encountered. There is a slight difference in meaning, since a cultivar-group was defined to comprise cultivars, whereas a Group may include individual plants. The cultivar-groups, in turn, replaced the similar category convariety (convar.), which did not necessarily contain named varieties.

In botanical nomenclature, author citation is the way of citing the person or group of people who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). In cases where a species is no longer in its original generic placement, both the authority for the original genus placement and that for the new combination are given.

In zoological nomenclature, the valid name of a taxon is the correct scientific name for that taxon. The valid name must be used for that taxon, regardless of any other name that may currently be used for that taxon, or may previously have been used. A name can only be valid when it is an available name under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN); if a name is unavailable, then it cannot be considered either valid or invalid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conserved name</span> Conserved name (a protected scientific name)

A conserved name or nomen conservandum is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules which would otherwise prevent it from being legitimate. Nomen conservandum is a Latin term, meaning "a name to be conserved". The terms are often used interchangeably, such as by the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN), while the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature favours the term "conserved name".

In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants that are created for certain subdivisions of genera and species, those that include the type of the genus or species. An autonym might not be mentioned in the publication that creates it as a side-effect. Autonyms "repeat unaltered" the genus name or species epithet of the taxon being subdivided, and no other name for that same subdivision is validly published. For example, Rubus subgenus Eubatus is not validly published, and the subgenus is known as Rubus subgen. Rubus.

The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principle of priority</span> Principle of botanical and zoological nomenclature

Priority is a fundamental principle of modern botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature. Essentially, it is the principle of recognising the first valid application of a name to a plant or animal. There are two aspects to this:

  1. The first formal scientific name published for a plant or animal taxon shall be the name that is to be used, called the valid name in zoology and correct name in botany.
  2. Once a name has been used, no subsequent publication of that name for another taxon shall be valid (zoology) or validly published (botany).

In zoological nomenclature, an available name is a scientific name for a taxon of animals that has been published after 1757 and conforming to all the mandatory provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature for the establishment of a zoological name.

<i>Paraserianthes</i> Species of legume

Paraserianthes lophantha, the Cape Leeuwin wattle, Bicol wattle, Cape wattle, crested wattle or plume albizia, is a fast-growing tree with creamy-yellow, bottlebrush like flowers. It is the sole species in genus Paraserianthes.

<i>Falcataria</i> Genus of legumes

Falcataria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the monophyletic Mimosoid clade in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The genus has three species previously classified in the Falcataria section of the genus Paraserianthes by I.C. Neilsen. The distribution of these closely related species within the genus Falcataria links the wet tropics of north-east Australia to New Guinea, the Moluccas, Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands east of Wallace's line similar to other plant taxa from the region.

In botanical nomenclature, a validly published name is a name that meets the requirements in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants for valid publication. Valid publication of a name represents the minimum requirements for a botanical name to exist: terms that appear to be names but have not been validly published are referred to in the ICN as "designations".

An isonym, in botanical taxonomy, is a name of a taxon that is identical to another designation, and based on the same type, but published at a different time by different authors. Citation from that source follows:

When the same name, based on the same type, has been published independently at different times by different authors, then only the earliest of these "isonyms" has nomenclatural status. The name is always to be cited from its original place of valid publication, and later isonyms may be disregarded.

Authors of Plant Names by Richard Kenneth Brummitt and C. Emma Powell, 1992, is a print database of accepted standardized abbreviations used for citing the author who validly published the name of a taxon. The database is now maintained online at the International Plant Names Index. The book provides recommended abbreviations for authors' names that help to distinguish authors with the same surname when giving the full name of a taxon. It deals authors who validly published the name of a flowering plant, gymnosperm, fern, bryophyte, algae, fungi or fossil plants. Prior to its publication in 1992, many abbreviations for authors to be cited could be found in Taxonomic literature. A selective guide to botanical publications and collections with dates, commentaries and types. by F. A. Stafleu & R. F. Cowen, 1976–1988.

<i>Falcataria falcata</i> Species of plant in the family Fabaceae

Falcataria falcata, commonly known as the Moluccan albizia, is a species of fast-growing tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands. It is cultivated for timber throughout South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. This tree is considered to be invasive in Hawaii, American Samoa and several other island nations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It reaches about 30 m (100 ft) tall in nature, and has a massive trunk and an open crown.

References

  1. McNeill et al. 2012, Glossary
  2. Turland, N. (2013). The Code Decoded: A user's guide to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Vol. Regnum Vegetabile Volume 155. Koeltz Scientific Books. ISBN   978-3-87429-433-1.
  3. McNeill et al. 2012, Article 6.2
  4. McNeill et al. 2012, Articles 6.3 and 6.4
  5. McNeill et al. 2012, Principle III
  6. McNeill et al. 2012, Article 7.2
  7. McNeill et al. 2012, Articles 60–61
  8. McNeill et al. 2012, Article 11.4
  9. McNeill et al. 2012, Article 53
  10. McNeill et al. 2012, Article 23.4
  11. "Falcataria falcata (L.) Greuter & R.Rankin". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  12. "FAQ: Why and how does LPSN assign the status "correct name"?". lpsn.dsmz.de.

Bibliography