November 2009 — 'Ask the Expert' Print

Q:  What is the correct way of listing trademarked and/or patented plants in a commercial catalogue or trade list? For example, the Meadow Sage known as Marcus or  Salvia nemorosa ‘Haeumanarc’ PP13,322 MARCUS™


A:  An excellent question with a complicated and probably not very satisfying answer. The whole issue of trade marking of plant names is creating havoc within the already confusing world of plant nomenclature. As if we didn’t have enough to contend with, while genera are being reorganized and renamed, in addition we must deal with nonsense cultivar names and trademarks. The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) states that the genus is always capitalized and the specific epithet (species) is written in lower case. Both should be underlined or italicised to indicate that they are in a language other than English.  The cultivar name should be enclosed within single quotes and should not be changed from the language in which it was originally named. For example: no anglicizing of non English names — ‘Ostfriesland’ must remain in the original German and not be changed to East Friesland — even though that is easier for non-German speakers to remember. If a plant is patented or the patent is applied for, that information is part of the name of the plant and should appear with the name.

To distinguish a cultivar name from a trademark the convention is developing that the trademark should be written in uppercase lettering followed by the ™ symbol.  This becomes especially relevant if the cultivar name is a nonsense or code, as is becoming popular. The cultivar name is the legal name of the plant and must be used, however the trademark is usually more memorable and often the recipient of copious amounts of marketing support from the breeder.

So to conclude, the correct way to list Marcus sage in a catalogue would be:
Salvia nemorosa ‘Haeumanarc’ PP13,322 MARCUS™, or if preferred, MARCUS™ could be in parenthesis (MARCUS™).


Q:  When writing about the relationships of plants, is it necessary to italicize family names such as Laminaceae?


A:  No.  While the genus and specific epithet (species) must be written in italics (or underlined) it is not the convention to italicize the family or other names.
 

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