The New Code For the Naming of Cultivated Plants[7]
[7] Reproduced with permission from Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, vol. 69, pp. 12-21, 1954.
J. S. L. GILMOUR, Chairman of the International Committee on
Horticultural Nomenclature and Registration
Anyone who deals in any way with cultivated plants uses plant names. This glimpse of the obvious ought to mean that the appearance of a new Code for the naming of cultivated plants should be a memorable event for all gardeners. I say "ought to mean" advisedly, because there is no doubt that, in the past, Codes of Nomenclature have made little appeal to gardeners, the great majority of whom have been blissfully unaware of their existence. As a consequence, many horticulturists—on hearing of "a new Code"—will, no doubt, raise a respectful (or contemptuous) eyebrow and get on with reading their latest catalogue. The aim of this article is to persuade readers of the Society's JOURNAL, not only that this attitude is against their own interests, but that a good deal of quiet entertainment can be extracted from trying to use plant names correctly—if only the entertainment of putting their neighbour right!
It is true that, hitherto, there has been ample excuse for ignorance. Although Codes for the naming of cultivated plants have existed, in some shape or form, for nearly 100 years, they have been printed in obscure publications, quite inaccessible to ordinary mortals. This excuse no longer holds. The full text, plus a summary, of the new Code can be purchased for one shilling and three pence (post free) from the Society, and, in addition, reference to it has been made in many horticultural and other periodicals. What, then, is the new Code about, how does it affect gardeners, and what should they do about it?
In the first place it is not about the Latin names of wild species or varieties—names like Rhododendron ponticum and Aesculus octandra var. vestita. Whether wild plants are grown in gardens or not, their Latin names are governed by quite a separate Code, devised by botanists for the purpose. It is true, of course, that gardeners have to use Latin names for many of the wild plants that they grow, and equally true, unfortunately, that the frequent changes in these names are a source of annoyance to everyone; but that is quite another story, with which we are not concerned here. At the last International Horticultural Congress steps were taken which we all hope will result, with the cooperation of botanists, in the stabilization of widely used Latin names of cultivated plants.
No, the new Code deals, not with wild species, varieties and hybrids, but with what are commonly called "garden varieties"—namely, forms which have been brought into existence by selection, hybridization, or other similar processes devised by man, and are maintained in cultivation as clones or pure lines by man's care and skill—such plants as Rose 'Peace,' Apple 'Beauty of Bath,' and thousands of others. The distinction between "wild" plants and "garden varieties" is not absolutely clear cut, and in the Code a closer definition is attempted—but for our present purpose the difference is obvious enough.
In the Code, it is recommended that "garden varieties" should technically be called "cultivars." This has been their official name for many years and it is clearly desirable, if the two categories of "wild" and "cultivated" varieties are to be recognized, to have a short and internationally current word for each of them. "Variety" and "cultivar" serve this purpose admirably, but it is not to be expected that all gardeners will make the distinction and adopt the word "cultivar" in ordinary parlance, at any rate immediately. Personally, however, I hope and believe that eventually "cultivar" will find favour. It is a clear and easily understood word and will, I think, prove useful to those gardeners who care for accuracy and precision in their craft, and especially to those who have dealings with fellow-gardeners in other countries.
The Code, then, deals with the names of cultivars. It may be helpful, I think, to consider its rules and regulations under three headings: firstly, those of interest to all gardeners who have occasion to write the names of cultivars; secondly, those which are concerned with the coining of new names; and thirdly, those more technical provisions which are of interest primarily to horticulturists studying a particular group and trying to establish what are the correct names for its cultivars.
1. The Writing of Cultivar-Names