Conservation (botany)
From Freepedia
In botany, conservation is a nomenclatural procedure governed by Art 14 of the ICBN. Its purpose is "to avoid disadvantageous nomenclatural changes entailed by the strict application of the rules, and especially of the principle of priority [...]" (Art 14.1). It is possible only for names at the rank of family, genus or species.
The procedure starts by submitting a proposal to the journal Taxon (published by the IAPT). This proposal should present the case both for and against conservation of a name. Any decision concerning conservation is tentative until ratification by an International Botanical Congress, after which the name will be included in an Appendix of the ICBN. Besides conservation of a name (Art 14) the ICBN also offers the option of rejection of a name (Art 56). Rejection is possible for a name at any rank.
Conservation may be restricted to the spelling of a name: Euonymus (not Evonymus), Guaiacum (not Guajacum), Hieronyma (not Hyeronima or Hieronima), etc.
Zoological nomenclature, as governed by the ICZN, has a procedure with a similar purpose.
