Project Summary

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) introduced the consistent use of binomial names for both plants and animals, validly publishing over 9,000 plant names. Since 1981 the Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project, based at The Natural History Museum, has been collating and cataloguing information on published type designations for Linnaean plant names and, where none exists, has been collaborating with specialists in designating appropriate types.

A type specimen is one which is permanently associated with a given scientific name, and acts as a permanent reference collection to confirm the identity of the species to which the name must apply. The Project's main aim is to promote nomenclatural stability in Linnaean plant names by establishing clear typifications for each of the names involved.

The Project is necessarily international in scope, receiving enquiries and requests for information on Linnaean names from all over the world. We are always keen to develop further collaboration with taxonomic or regional specialists in the evaluation of Linnaean names and their types. Based at The Natural History Museum, the Project is also indebted to the Linnean Society of London for generous grant support.

For more information, see the 'Supplementary Information' resource.