The Code
Rules for the scientific naming of fungi are laid out in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. The Code also includes provisions for its governance. Appendices to the Code list names that have been conserved, protected or rejected, along with lists of suppressed works.
There are on-line versions of the Code and its appendices, along with printed versions, prepared after each International Botanical Congress. The current edition is the Melbourne Code. The next edition will be Shenzhen Code, expected to be published in July 2018.
An innovation of the Shenzhen Code is that provisions relating solely to names of fungi are brought together in ‘Chapter F’.
It is important that mycologists consult the on-line version of the Code because any changes to Chapter F of the Code resulting from decisions taken at Fungal Nomenclature Sessions of International Mycological Congresses (see below) will be made to the on-line version, and not incorporated into the printed version until the subsequent International Botanical Congress (the next being the XX IBC in Rio de Janeiro in 2023).
Governance
Rules for governance of the Code are set out in its Division III. Changes to governance introduced in the Shenzhen Code mean that amendments to Chapter F of the Code (provisions that deal solely with names of organisms treated as fungi) are dealt with by the Fungal Nomenclature Session of an International Mycological Congress. The rest of the Code (most of which also applies to fungi) is governed by the Nomenclature Section of an International Botanical Congress.
Fungal Nomenclature Session
The Fungal Nomenclature Session (FNS) is the forum in which formal proposals to amend Chapter F of the Code are considered.
Prior to the FNS there is a Guiding vote on all formally published proposals to amend the Code.
The FNS also appoints the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi.
Decisions of the FNS become binding upon acceptance by the plenary session of the same International Mycological Congress.
The Fungal Nomenclature Session at IMC11 will be held on Thursday July 19 2018 in the plenary hall of the Puerto Rico Convention Center. All persons registered for at least that day of the Congress are eligible to attend and vote in the FNS. Each person eligible to attend has one vote, and there are no institutional votes. Only those present in the room, on the day, can vote.
The Agenda and Procedures for the Fungal Nomenclature Session are available at: Agenda and Procedures on Google Drive
Seven formal proposals have been published. Further proposals "from the floor" have been published or submitted to the Secretaries, and are available at: Formal Proposals on Google Drive
Any more "Proposals from the floor" must be in the hands of the Secretaries in electronic form prior to the start of the Fungal Nomenclature Session. Send to tom [dot] may [at] rbg [dot] vic [dot] gov [dot] au
Fungal Nomenclature Bureau
The Fungal Nomenclature Bureau (FNB) is responsible for organising the Fungal Nomenclature Session and the Guiding vote.
For the 2018 Fungal Nomenclature Session at IMC11 the Fungal Nomenclature Bureau comprises:
- Amy Rossman (Corvallis, USA, Chair)
- David Hawksworth (Richmond and London, UK, Emeritus Deputy Chair)
- Tom May (Melbourne, Australia, Secretary)
- Scott Redhead (Ottawa, Canada, Deputy Secretary)
- Lorenzo Lombard (Utrecht, The Netherlands, Recorder)