Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2003 19:35:57 -0800
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
From: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>

> So, what is the protocol for varietal names? Who register's them? Who
has
> the right to bestow it? How is it described?
>
> NLN

Nancy,

Cultivar names are governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for
Cultivated Plants:

http://www.ishs.org/sci/icracpco.htm

This publication is not available free on this Internet, but it can be
downloaded as a PDF file for $40.00 at:

http://www.actahort.org/members/buymorecredits?session=I366416466516U45126N2

0030102P42018

Actually, the requirements for naming cultivated plants are somewhat less
formal than for wild plants. If there is an organization recognized as an
international registration authority for the genus of the plant in
question, the name must be submitted to them to ensure that the name follows the
rules and is not a duplicate of something already circulated under that name or a
similar one. Since there is no such authority for Justicia, it falls into
a gray zone. It might be submitted to another organization devoted to
herbaceous plants or shrubs, but in practice, this is really not necessary.

It MUST be given a "fancy name". Neither "Ugly Shrimp Plant" nor "Winter
Shrimp Plant" would qualify, since these both incorporate a common name for
the genus. Justicia brandegeana 'Hummer's Delight' (capitalized and in
single quotation marks) would qualify.

Find some nursery willing to propagate it in a significant quantity and
sell it under that name (Naylors?). There is no prescribed number, but I think
that 100 plants would be sufficient. It would help to document precedence
for the name if the nursery published a printed catalog, but in practice
that is not absolutely necessary.

I had planned to give propagation material to the Huntington Botanical
Gardens and see if they would be willing to introduce it at their annual
plant sale. However, I only have one small plant in a pot (now in bloom)
sent to me by Peg Siegert. The many roots you sent me last year labeled
"winter shrimp plant" turned out to be something else--something very
tender. I divided them into three different groups and planted them in
different areas--some in a very sheltered area, but all of them rotted and
died during last winter. Perhaps you would be more successful if someone
with a large planting could provide a nursery near you with propagation
material.

Some of the choice plants I selected and named during my years at the
Huntington include Salvia leucantha 'Midnight', S. 'Indigo Spires', S.
'Purple Majesty', S. gesneriflora 'Mole Poblano', Justicia brandegeana
'Jambalaya', Dianthus ' Horacio', etc. These have since entered the
general nursery trade and have become widely available. None of these was
originally published, but they were picked up by leading nurseries and their
cultivar names have become accepted through usage.

John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030