Commission for Common Names (2013-2019)

Secretary:        M. Aghababyan, Erevan

Members:        A. A. Dönmez, Ankara
                       I. Kožuharova, Sofia
                       D. Mathieu, Montpellier
                       E. von Raab-Straube, Berlin
                       J. Vallès, Barcelona
                       E. Vitek, Vienna

Contacts: Based on the current Commission membership, contacts are being established with experts from different countries and institutions with the aim of obtaining vetted lists of common-language names, in selected languages, suitable for database import.

Portal: Negotiations with the OPTIMA Secretariat in Palermo and, through it, with the biodiversity informatics team in Berlin are progressing, with a view to permit access to the assembled data through a suitable portal, eg., Euro+Med Plantbase.

Development: During the initial test phase, use is being made of existing full datasets such as those already available through Euro+Med Plantbase. Four test languages are being used (Armenian, French, Czech, and Hebrew), also to assess the problems associated with different alphabets and diacritical signs.

Progress: In cooperation with Tela Botanica, criteria for the selection of the most appropriate French common names are being developed. Detailed guidelines have been made available through the «Lettre d'information sur l'actualité de la botanique francophone du site Tela Botanica».

For Italy, a working group of the Sezione per la Floristica, Sistematica ed Evoluzione of the Italian Botanical Society has been set up, with the purpose of establishing a list of recommended Italian common names for all vascular plant taxa that occur on the national territory of Italy. When ready, the list of recommended Italian names will be submitted to the Italian Botanical Society to be approved as the recommended national standard.

This page last updated 13 June, 2016.