Articles
CURRENT TRENDS IN THE APPLICATION OF CULTIVATED PLANT NOMENCLATURE FOR HORTICULTURAL COLLECTIONS IN NORTH AMERICAN PUBLIC GARDENS
Article number
1035_3
Pages
29 – 34
Language
English
Abstract
Botanic gardens and arboreta are thought of as institutions where collections of plants are displayed and labeled with authoritative plant nomenclature and taxonomy.
To improve understanding of the practices used by North American public gardens in labelling cultivated plants in horticultural collections, a survey comprised of 30 questions was developed and distributed to members of the American Public Gardens Associations Plant Nomenclature and Taxonomy Professional Section using a web-based survey tool.
Questions included who held responsibility for verifying plant names; how important it was to maintain up-to-date names for plant collections; how frequently and under what circumstances plant names were reviewed and updated; the type of nomenclatural or taxonomic information (scientific names, common names, plant families, trade designations and/or trademarks, etc.) used to label plants, and the methods, systems, protocols, and preferred references used to update plant names.
Eighty-five individuals responded, representing 78 institutions maintaining collections of documented and labeled plants.
Curatorial staff were found to be responsible for nomenclature decisions and practices, and taxonomists were only rarely consulted.
On plant labels, it was found that all responding gardens used scientific names, most (93%) used common names, and 60% were found to include other designations such as trademarks (where applicable) as part of their plant names.
The way that trademarks were used on labels widely differed among gardens.
The most popular references and on-line resources used to verify plant nomenclature and taxonomy included published floras, Royal Horticultural Societys Plant Finder, International Plant Names Index, and Germplasm Research Information Network.
Guidance on the use of trade designations and trademarks, and improved access to digital or web-based information on the names and taxonomy of cultivated plants were identified as being most important to facilitate best practices in cultivated plant names for North American Gardens.
To improve understanding of the practices used by North American public gardens in labelling cultivated plants in horticultural collections, a survey comprised of 30 questions was developed and distributed to members of the American Public Gardens Associations Plant Nomenclature and Taxonomy Professional Section using a web-based survey tool.
Questions included who held responsibility for verifying plant names; how important it was to maintain up-to-date names for plant collections; how frequently and under what circumstances plant names were reviewed and updated; the type of nomenclatural or taxonomic information (scientific names, common names, plant families, trade designations and/or trademarks, etc.) used to label plants, and the methods, systems, protocols, and preferred references used to update plant names.
Eighty-five individuals responded, representing 78 institutions maintaining collections of documented and labeled plants.
Curatorial staff were found to be responsible for nomenclature decisions and practices, and taxonomists were only rarely consulted.
On plant labels, it was found that all responding gardens used scientific names, most (93%) used common names, and 60% were found to include other designations such as trademarks (where applicable) as part of their plant names.
The way that trademarks were used on labels widely differed among gardens.
The most popular references and on-line resources used to verify plant nomenclature and taxonomy included published floras, Royal Horticultural Societys Plant Finder, International Plant Names Index, and Germplasm Research Information Network.
Guidance on the use of trade designations and trademarks, and improved access to digital or web-based information on the names and taxonomy of cultivated plants were identified as being most important to facilitate best practices in cultivated plant names for North American Gardens.
Authors
N.E. Iwanycki
Keywords
botanic gardens, plant labels, nomenclature practices, cultivated plant names, trade designations, trademarks
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