Cultivars
In 2013, the International Maple Society was appointed International Cultivar Registration Authority (ICRA) for the genus Acer by the International Society for Horticultural Science (I.S.H.S.). The ICRA system aims to promote stability in the naming of cultivated plants by promoting lists of authenticated names in a number of important groups of plants which are commonly cultivated.
MAPLE CULTIVAR CLASSIFICATION AND KEY
The seemingly endless variety of Japanese Maple cultivars can seem confusing to the gardening public. When purchasing a Japanese Maple in winter it’s easy to be unsure what it will look like in spring.
To help with this problem, after several years of experimentation, the Maple Society has adopted the classification of Cor van Gelderen of the famous Plantentuin Esveld Nursery as the
Official Japanese Maple Classification of Maple Society.
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The classification has been published in “Dendroflora”, a yearly scientific magazine on plants published by the Dutch Royal Boskoop Society and the Dutch Dendrology Society, and will be officially adopted by the latter.
To help both amateurs and professionals determine where to place cultivars in the classification, click here to view and download the International Maple Society's Key to the Classification:
ABOUT THE ICRA SYSTEM
The International Cultivar Registration Authority system is voluntary, non-statutory, and does not confer any legal protection over the name or the plant. Such protection has to be sought through statutory schemes such as national Plant Breeders' Rights or Plant Patents. The ICRA system is simply the horticultural world's attempt at self-policing of nomenclature and is truly international in its scope.
Each ICRA is also charged with ensuring that new names are formally established (i.e. published in hard copy, with a description in a dated publication). Establishment in this context is an important concept since it is only after such publication that the name has precedence for its use for a particular plant. Whilst the ICRA will ensure through its own publications that names are established, registrants should not necessarily rely on this and should try to ensure that their new names are securely established as soon after registration as possible.
The International Cultivar Registration Authority system is voluntary, non-statutory, and does not confer any legal protection over the name or the plant. Such protection has to be sought through statutory schemes such as national Plant Breeders' Rights or Plant Patents. The ICRA system is simply the horticultural world's attempt at self-policing of nomenclature and is truly international in its scope.
Each ICRA is also charged with ensuring that new names are formally established (i.e. published in hard copy, with a description in a dated publication). Establishment in this context is an important concept since it is only after such publication that the name has precedence for its use for a particular plant. Whilst the ICRA will ensure through its own publications that names are established, registrants should not necessarily rely on this and should try to ensure that their new names are securely established as soon after registration as possible.
HOW TO REGISTER AN ACER CULTIVAR
For the genus Acer, registration of a new cultivar entails the registrant to complete The Registration Form that can be found in the Cultivar Registration Section in the International Maple Society Website. The Registration Form is designed to bring together all the information that the ICRA requires so that the Registrar may ensure that a new cultivar name is properly established within the rules as laid down in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (I.C.N.C.P.). This Code is issued at periodic intervals under the authority of the Commission for the Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants, a body which itself lies under the aegis of the International Union of Biological Sciences (I.U.B.S.).
Details of the latest edition of the Code, including details of how to acquire a copy, may be found here:
http://www.ishs.org/sci/icracpco.htm
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Management of Registered Cultivars
Information, pictures, etc. of registered cultivars will be stored in the upcoming International Maple Society Cultivars database. This will serve as the trusted repository for cultivar information and will be instrumental in promoting confidence in the commercialisation of the cultivars. The International Maple Society will also use its presence on social media (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, et al) to publicize each new registration.
The following notes are designed to be helpful for those not familiar with what is required. Please fill in the form carefully. If you need to include extra papers with the form, please ensure that they are attached together and that each separate sheet is labelled with the proposed name of the cultivar. Photographs, and even videos, should be used along textual description. Such a photographs/videos should show the characteristics whereby the cultivar differs from other known cultivars.
Remember, a plant is not, in itself, a cultivar. A cultivar is a taxonomic unit made up of a number of plants with the same set of characteristics, so do not attempt to register a name if the original plant has not been propagated to the point where a number of identical plants exist. The I.C.N.C.P. defines a cultivar thus: “A cultivar is an assemblage of plants that has been selected for a particular attribute or combination of attributes and that is clearly distinct, uniform, and stable in these characteristics and that when propagated by appropriate means retains those characteristics.”
A summary of how to form a cultivar name may be found here: http://www.ishs.org/sci/icraname.htm