Nomenclatural History 



The cultivar and botanical taxa enumerations reflect the many problems of 

 correctly identifying cultivars, applying the legitimate names to the correct 

 plant, sorting cultivars from botanical taxa, and determining synonymy. 



The genus Ilex has been in cultivation for centuries, and now more than 

 125 species are cultivated. These species are, in turn, represented by 

 several thousand named cultivars. The genus also has many types of 

 cultivar nomenclature complexities and confusions. Inadequate 

 descriptions, poor documentation, and inappropriate, incorrect or unstable 

 cultivar names are all major causes of nomenclatural, taxonomic, and 

 identification instabilities and inaccuracies. The longer the confusions 

 exist (while the named cultivars continue to be cultivated and the number 

 of named cultivars proliferate) the more difficult the problems of 

 nomenclature and identification become. 



Formal International Registration of new cultivar names is promoted by 

 the Commission for Horticultural Nomenclature and Registration of the 

 International Society for Horticultural Science. International Registration 

 provides by far the best means for ensuring the adequacy and accuracy of 

 descriptions, the legitimacy of cultivar names, and the accessibility of 

 accurate documentation. The Council of the International Society for 

 Horticultural Science appoints International Registration Authorities for 

 many cultivated plant genera. These authorities are able to respond to 

 questions concerning the formulation and documentation of new cultivar 

 names. The Holly Society of America, Inc., by appointment as the 

 authority for cultivated Ilex and through its appointed registration 

 committee and registrar, has been registering Ilex cultivars since 1958. 

 This registration system, while nonstatutory, is international in scope; and 

 all potential selectors, namers, and introducers of new cultivars are 

 strongly urged to use this system by contacting the International Registrar 

 for cultivar names in the genus Ilex: G.K. Eisenbeiss, U.S. National 

 Arboretum, 3501 New York Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20002. 



While analyzing the literature published prior to the "International Code 

 of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants — 1953" (Stearn et al. 1953), we 

 found it difficult to separate some botanical ranks, especial lyformae, from 

 cultivated varieties (cultivars). The sorting of these categories was one of 

 our objectives, since a suitable nomenclature for cultivated varieties, 

 distinct from botanical ranks, was not available before 1953. The 

 'international Code of Botanical Nomenclature" (Greuteret al. 1988 and 

 earlier editions) did not address the nomenclature of cultivated plants. 

 While the term "cultivated variety" was widely understood for many 

 years, it was not directly attached to a plant name. Sometimes the term 



