CONGRESS ACTION, VI IBC (1935)

Congress action on proposals submitted to the VI IBC, the 1935,
Amsterdam Congress to amend the International Rules of Botanical
Nomenclature, ed. 3 (Cambridge Rules).  Based on the Proceedings.

Links go to the relevant page at either a website (BHL) or of a PDF,
a local copy (copyright where applicable: Kew Gardens).

See also:

   •  conversion table
   •  list of proposals
 

The Synopsis is different from that of any other Congress.  The Red
Book (Synopsis of proposals) only offers a synoptic view of the
proposals (without comments by the Rapporteur): the evaluating
comments can be found in the Gray Book (Preliminary opinions)
which provides the recommendations of ten eminent botanists who
had been sent the Red Book and had responded with a vote in
favour or against.  Offered separately are the votes and comments
by Barnhart, which came in late.  In addition, the Gray Book also
has some proposals that came in late.

The Section decided that all proposals that had received four-fifths
or more no-votes in the Gray Book were automatically rejected.

At this time, the format  “Art. B 11”  was used to number proposals.
For convenience sake, this has been converted here to the latter-day
format  “Art. 11 Prop. B”.  The abbreviations  “PB”  and  “Myc”
in the Gray Book indicate that the number of votes received was
inadequate to formulate a recommendation on a proposal pertaining
to palaeobotanical nomenclature or mycology, respectively (no
action was taken by the Section on these proposals, either).  An
asterisk (*) indicates that the Gray Book has an additional comment
(or comments), not just a vote.

                    the nomina specifica conservanda were rejected.
                    Instead a proposal (Ramsbottom) was accepted to have
                    a Committee to draw up a list of economically important
                    species; this list to be protected for ten years.

                    was accepted with the following wording:

                      “Names of families are taken from the name of one of
                        their genera, or from a synonym, and end in -aceae.”

                    was accepted with the following amended (Exell)
                    wording :

                      “Example of asexual hybrids: +Solanum tubingense
                        (Solanum Lycopersicum + nigrum).”

                    the Bureau recommended that this proposal be rejected
                    but that the example be added to Art. 34, the term 
                    “subhybrida”  being replaced by  “forma”  (Harms):
                    this was adopted.

                    was accepted as amended (the Bureau); the change
                    to Art. 35 to read:  “The fancy epithet will be preceded
                    by the letter “c.”.”

              A proposal from the floor (Hochreutiner) was accepted
              to add to Art. 36:

                “Where separates from periodicals or other works placed
                  on sale are issued in advance, the date on the separate
                  is accepted as the date of effective publication.”

                    was accepted as amended (Rehder): 
                        “Citation of authors’ names and of literature for
                          purposes of precision.”

                    was accepted as amended (the Bureau):

                      “An alteration of the diagnostic characters or of the
                        circumscription of a group without exclusion of
                        the type ... ”.

          was amended (Hitchcock, Linder, Sprague) to read:

            “Misapplications of names should not be included in
              synonymy. Misapplied names may be included in notes
              appended to the synonymy but distinct from it, or to the
              description where there is no synonymy.”

          this was referred to the Editorial Committee.

          was accepted as amended (Harms), to omit the first example,
          the text to be abbreviated:

             “In citation of literature ‘in’ should be inserted after the
               name of the author if the citation refers to a periodical
               or other serial publication, or if it is a work by another
               author.”

           was accepted as amended (the Bureau), to read:

             “If a name cited in synonymy applies only in part to the
               group under which it is cited, it should be made clear
               whether the synonym cited includes the type, and in that
               case the words pro parte typica, (p. p. typ.) should be
               appended; in more exact citations the parts excluded or
               those belonging to the group in question should be cited,
               or the name of the author who changed the circumscription
               of the group should be added, preceded by  ‘emend.’ .”

           In the examples delete  “p.p.”  in lines 1 and 6; substitute
           the word  “under”  for  “as synon.”  in line 4/5.

          was accepted as amended, by the deletion of the words 
          “without grammatical or orthographic corrections or changes
          in the indication of rank of subdivisions of genera or of
          species,”  and the addition of  “A.”  before  “Gray”  in lines 7
          and 9.

                  was accepted as amended, with the following wording:
                  “since the type of Myosotis L. remains in the genus.”

                  was accepted as amended (Sprague), to read:

                      “When, on transference to another genus or species,
                        the epithet of a subdivision of a species has been
                        applied erroneously in its new position to a different
                        subdivision of the same rank, the new combination
                        must be retained for the plant on which the former
                        combination was based, and must be attributed to
                        the author who first published it.”

                     was accepted as amended (Sprague) to replace the
                     words  “he (or she)”  by  “the author”,  and the phrase 
                     “Rafinesque ought to have adopted the name
                     Pontederia L.”  by  “the name Pontederia L. ought
                     to have been adopted.”

                     was accepted as amended (Rehder), to read:

                       “When an author simultaneously publishes the same
                         new name for more than one group, the first author
                         who adopts one of them, or substitutes another name
                         for one of them, must be followed.”

                   The Example referred to the Committee involved.

          was accepted as amended by the deletion of the words
          “(i.e. secundum)” in the example of Rec. XXXVII.

                   it was suggested ( Sprague) that in view of the small
                   number of such names (masculine generic names based
                   on a personal name) it would be better to deal with these
                   by conservation of the desired spelling, rather than by a
                   special Rule.  It was agreed to reject the proposal and to
                   refer the five generic names concerned (Herberta,
                   Marchesinia, Nardia, Pallavicinia, and Riccardia) for
                   conservation.

                   was accepted as amended (Sprague), with Art. 72 to
                   become a Recommendation.

                   provisions 1 and 2 were withdrawn; the remainder was
                   then referred to the Executive and Editorial Committees.
                   Also, the following motion (Ramsbottom) was accepted:

                     “That the President and Secretary of the Executive
                       Committee of Nomenclature be ex officio members
                       of all nomenclature Committees appointed by the
                       Section.”

                        was accepted, leaving it to the Committee for
                        Phanerogamae and Pteridophyta to conserve any
                        additional names that might be required.

                        it was proposed (Linder) and accepted that the
                        Executive Committee should get into touch with
                        Botanical Institutions in the various countries and
                        ask them to give their ideas concerning representative
                        institutions to be placed on the list.

 
 
Miscellaneous

 •  It was proposed (Rendle) and accepted that only matters
    left over from the present Congress, or new propositions,
    should be allowed to be proposed at the next Congress.

 •  It was moved (Lanjouw) that a proposal to the Cambridge
    Congress, Art. 37ter (Rec. Syn. p. 41) ([   ]), be considered;
    this was accepted as amended (Robyns), to read:

     “A name of a taxonomic group is not validly published
       unless it is definitely accepted by the author who
       publishes it. A name proposed provisionally (nomen
       provisorium) in anticipation of the eventual acceptance
       of the group, or of a particular circumscription,
       position or rank of a given group, or merely mentioned
       incidentally is not validly published.”

    The example was brought forward (Robyns) of
    Cymbopogon Bequaerti and Andropogon Bequaerti and
    discussed; such alternative names were to be allowed.

 •  The following four resolutions proposed by the Algologists
    were adopted:

    1. In describing new species of Algae, special importance
        should be attached to the provision of illustrations and
        to maintenance of cultures of the species concerned.
    2. The desirability of adopting further monographs as the
        starting points of particular groups of Algae, as in the
        Oedogoniaceae, should be investigated.
    3. A list of nomina dubia of species, genera and families
        should be prepared, and also lists of nomina
        conservanda and rejicienda of genera and families.
    4. The desirability of retaining the Latin language for
        diagnoses of new Algae should be investigated.

 •  As to the proposals on fossils, the Section of Palaeobotany
    met on September 3rd, and decided unanimously that
    additions should be made to the Rules and
    Recommendations for the following objects:

    1. To recognize as taxonomic groups, organ genera and
        artificial or form genera.
    2. To ensure that the names originally given to detached
        organs or parts of plants shall only be used in their
        original significance and shall not be employed in
        the designation of different organs, or of the plant as
        a whole.
    3. To provide for the naming of an entire plant when it
        has been possible to reconstruct it by the association
        of its different organs.
    4. To define how the names of the artificial genera are
        to be used.
    5. To set up a permanent committee to consider the
        interpretation of the rules; to adjudicate in cases of
        dispute or difficulty; to draw up lists of Nomina
        generica conservanda; and to make such further
        recommendations as may prove necessary, including
        rules for the determination of types.

    Wording and arrangement to be left to the Secretary,
    Hamshaw Thomas, the whole to be printed as an
    appendix.

 •  As to the proposals on mycology, it was stated
    (Ramsbottom) on behalf of the Committee for Fungi
    that separate subcommittees would be appointed to
    investigate the effects of the various proposals (Art. 20
    Prop. A, B, C, E, and F,  Art. 57 Prop. A).

 •  An Editorial Committee for a Supplement of the
    International Rules of Botanical Nomenclature was
    appointed (three persons, one for each language) instead
    of a full Editorial Committee.

 
Committees

 •  A Special Committee to report on the effects of the
    adoption of Art. A 19 (dealing with the proposed
    suppression of certain works) was appointed.
 •  A Special Committee for Nomenclature of Economic
    Plants was appointed to draw up a list of names of
    economic plants according to the International Rules;
    this list to remain in use for a period of ten years.
 •  The appointment of a Committee to draw up an
    Appendix on Regulations for determining types
    (the App. I proposed at Cambridge) was referred to
    the Executive Committee.

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