Plant Names

Scientific names for all Australian plants – APNI and APC

The Australian National Herbarium, as part of the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, maintains comprehensive databases for plant names in Australia.

The Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) provides detailed information on scientific names but DOES NOT recommend any particular taxonomy or nomenclature.

The Australian Plant Census (APC) is a work in progress, providing a nationally agreed list of current scientific names endorsed by the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH). Not all plant groups have yet been treated for the APC.

Scientific names for selected plant groups

• Names for eucalypts - from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.
• Catalogue of Australian Mosses - the name and publication references for mosses.
• Checklist of Australian Lichens - the names and publication references for lichens.
• Census of Freshwater Algae in Australia - maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.
• Australian Marine Algae Name Index - maintained by Murdoch University, Perth.
• Census of Plants in Australian Botanic Gardens - 1992 listings for major botanic gardens.

Australian Common Names

• Database of Common Names of Australian Plants - not complete (Frames version)

Australian Cultivar Names

• List of registered cultivars of Australian native plants.
• The Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA)

Australian Plant Breeders Rights

• For Information about Australian Plant Breeders Rights - http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pbr/index.shtml
• For PBR database search - http://pbr.ipaustralia.plantbreeders.gov.au/
• See also Plant Varieties Journal

Cultivars - International

• International Registration Authorities (IRAs) by genus: http://www.ishs.org/icra/index.htm
• An explanation of the work of IRAs may be found on: http://www.ishs.org/icra/index.htm

Worldwide Plant Names

• Find information about the scientific publication of plant names worldwide - International Plant Names Index (IPNI).
• International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, (VIENNA CODE) adopted by the Seventeenth International Botanical Congress Vienna, Austria, July 2005:
  http://www.ibot.sav.sk/icbn/main.htm