LILIES - RHS Lily Group

of Wester Ross beyond an ever-changing Loch Ewe. As daffodil registrar, I was
equipped with a redundant typewriter, boasting an especially long platen, from
the RHS Accounts Department. During the intervening years, computers and
internet connection have truly revolutionized international registration.
Although I don’t have detailed knowledge of lilies, the principles of registration
have held true over the decades and apply to all genera. To encourage a consistent
approach to the naming of plant cultivars and Groups, International Cultivar
Registration Authorities (ICRAs) apply the Articles and, wherever possible, the
Recommendations, of The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated
Plants. In the 1980s the Code ran to 32 pages; the current (seventh) edition has
123. Two decades ago, upholding the tenets of the Cultivated Plant Code for
daffodils was a relatively straightforward job. In the world of the commercially
important new lily it is quite a different task. An underlying principle of the Code
is that names must be universally available and their use uninhibited. Hence an
ICRA cannot exert any influence over trademarks, which are not strictly names
and are certainly not freely available, nor over names granted Plant Breeders’
Rights, which may be established according to provisions at variance to the Code.
Such epithets, protected by legislation, are routinely used for new lilies and take
precedence over synonyms and similar names registered by an ICRA. Challenges
ahead include fostering greater co-operation with Plant Variety Offices and
convincing potential registrants that international registration remains relevant
and very worthwhile. I do hope I shall hear from you.
‘Action’ to ‘Žonglér’:
the Twenty-fourth Supplement to the International Lily Register
Wouldn’t you like to know to which Division ‘Dreamcatcher’ belongs…or the
colour of ‘Boogie Woogie’…the poise of ‘Beautiful Victoria’, or, come to that,
the shape of ‘Cecil’? Descriptions of these lilies, and for all lily epithets registered
between October 2004 and September 2005, appear in this most recent Supplement,
which was published in spring 2007.
Copies of the 64-page, A5 booklet are available from RHS Enterprises Ltd, RHS Garden, Wisley,
Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB, UK, at £5 each plus postage: £1 in the UK; £2 for Europe and £3
outwith Europe. I’m afraid payment by cheque (made out to RHS Enterprises Ltd), is only accepted
in Pounds Sterling (GBP). Details of the price of multiple copies are available from the above address
and by ‘phoning 0845 260 4505. The e-mail address for ordering on-line is mailorder@rhs.org.uk.
It is also possible to distinguish ‘Swansea’ from ‘Stafford’ on-line, as Supplements 20 to 24 inclusive
may be consulted using Adobe Acrobat Reader, by searching on plant registers. For those wishing
to register ‘Red Hot’’s successor, the registration form may be down-loaded from the RHS web
site: www.rhs.org.uk, and is available from Mrs Kate Donald, International Lily Registrar, 16
Midtown of Inverasdale, Poolewe, Ross-shire IV22 2LW, UK; telephone 0044 (0)1445 781717;
e-mail: lily@rhs.org.uk.
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