Type (botany)

From Freepedia

In botanical nomenclature, a type (typus, nomenclatural type) "is that element to which the name of a taxon is permanently attached ..." (Art 7.1 ICBN). In botany, a type is a specimen or illustration.

Usually, only a species or an infraspecific taxon can have a type of its own.

A genus has the same type as that of one of its species. For convenience this species may, unofficially, be called its type species, a phrase that has no standing under the ICBN. Only by conservation may a genus have its own type.

A family has the same type as that of one of its genera (i.e. usually the type of species). For convenience this genus may, unofficially, be called its type genus, a phrase that has no standing under the ICBN.

The ICBN provides a listing of the various kinds of type in Art 9, the most important of which is the holotype.