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Cultivated plant code

The rules for taxonomy of cultivars differ from the rules of the Botanic Code for plants living in the wild. The names and descriptions of these plants do not have to be (and may not be) written in Latin.
The exact rules for taxonomy are mentioned in the International code of Taxonomy of Culture plants (in short Culture Plant Code or ICNCP). This code is used worldwide. In 2000 the European Union has established guide lines for taxonomy of Cultivars. In Europe it is required by law to stick to these rules. In some aspects these guide lines differ from the Culture Plant Code.

The name of cultivars must be published. This frequently happens in magazines of International Cultivar Registration Authorities (ICRA). The cultivar must be described in that Article. This description must be written in a modern language (English, Dutch etc.). The rules for naming cultivars are embedded in the ICNCP.

The cultivar name is placed between single high quotations marks. So it is Kalanchoe blossfeldiana 'Timor' and not Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Timor. Thus you can always recognise a name whether it is a cultivar name or a trade name. The latter one is not placed between single high quotations marks.

Before the cultivar name a genus name must be written. Example: Hydrangea macrophylla (Teller Group) 'Fire Work Roze', Hydrangea (Teller Group) 'Fire Work Roze', Hydrangea 'Fire Work Roze' and Hortensia 'Fire Work Roze' are all good names.

The name of cultivar is a name in a modern language, which consists of maximally three words with a maximum of 30 characters. For this reason it is forbidden to use Passiflorum 'Lilium'.

Another rule concerns the length of a cultivar name. This name should be short and with a maximum of three words. For example Phlox 'Snow-white and the seven dwarfs' or Pilea 'Hottentottententententoonstellingsterrein’ are no valid names.

Every word of the cultivar name starts with a capital letter. Small words as "or" and "of" may be written with a small character.

The words variety, var., form, cross, junction, hybrid, grex, group, maintenance, mutant, seedling, plant, selection, sport, strain, genus, improved, transformed or changed - may not be used in a cultivar name. Example: Tulipa 'Apricot Variety' is not a valid name.

Since 1996 the cultivar name may not be translated into another language.

Cultivars with several characters in common may be placed in a cultivar group. The name of cultivar group is written directly behind the genus name. The name consists of a word (in a modern language or in Latin) that starts with a capital letter + the word "group" with a capital letter. These words together are placed between round brackets (). Example: Begonia (Elatior Group), Chrysanthemum (Indicum Group). Cultivars from certain cultivar groups are indicated with the genus name + the name of the cultivar group between brackets () + the cultivar name. Example: Begonia (Elatior Group) 'Rosalie' and Iris (Hollandica Group) 'Blue Diamond'.

Within a genus a cultivar name may not be reused. A cultivar name should at least differ in 2 characters or signs from all other cultivar names. For example: the cultivar Guzmania 'Copito' already exists. One is not allowed to create the cultivar name G. 'Capito' because this name differs in only 1 character from G. 'Copito'. However, the cultivar name G. 'Capitas' would be permitted.

The cultivar name may not exclusively be descriptive. A cultivar of a rose may not be called Rosa 'Deeply Red'. This is a confusing name, because many more roses are also deeply red.

Punctuation marks are forbidden in a cultivar name, except the apostrophe " ' ", the comma ",", the exclamation mark "!", the hyphen "-", and the full-stop ".". The name Zantedeschia 'Rembrandt?' is not allowed, whereas Zantedeschia 'Rembrandt!' is permitted.

Official lists of cultivar names are kept up by "International Cultivar Registration Authorities" (ICRA)

The cultivar name may not be misleading due to a characteristic that incorrectly refers to the cultivar. A Sinningia without purple flowers may not be called 'Purple Strike'.

A name is also forbidden if this name suggests an affinity which is not correct. For example: Tulipa 'Parade' is an old tulip cultivar. The new variety (= cultivar) T. ‘Parade Pleasure’ is only allowed when there is an affinity (for example T. ‘Parade Pleasure’ is a mutation from T. ‘Parade’).

A cultivar name may also be a code of up to 10 characters. A code may consist of letters or alternating sets of letters and numbers. In horticulture codes consisting only numbers are not common. 'Ab/33-cd' may be established but 'Ab/33-44' may be not established.