On 16 July the Nomenclature Section of the XVII International Botanical Congress in Vienna , Austria , voted to accept the Spermatophyta Committee's recommendation to conserve the name Acacia by retypifying it with a new type as proposed by Orchard & Maslin (2003). This decision was subsequently ratified at the Plenary Session of the Congress on 23 July. The new type of Acacia is the Australian species A. penninervis (replacing the African/Asian species, A. nilotica). The above decision means that when this large cosmopolitan genus is split the name Acacia will be retained for the almost 1,000 species currently ascribed to Acacia subgenus Phyllodineae; these species predominate in Australia and are extensively utilised around the world. The majority of native, non-Australian species will subsequently become known as either Vachellia or Senegalia. The information presented below provides some details relating to this issue.
- Acacia – the final decision. A discussion paper by Bruce Maslin & Tony Orchard providing terse background information on the Acacia name issue, a précis of events leading up to the Vienna Congress, and reasons why the Congress voted the way it did.
- List of people who expressed support for the Spermatophyta Committee's recommendation to accept the Orchard and Maslin proposal to conserve Acacia with an new type. Worldwidewattle extends it sincerest thanks to the almost 250 people who provided this support. Glenda Lindsay is also thanked for assistance in preparing this list. Contact us if your details need changing or if we inadvertently omitted to list your name.
- Chronology of relevant matters concerning the proposal to conserve Acacia with a conserved type (since March 2003)
Generic and Infrageneric Names
Generic and infrageneric names in Acacia following retypification of the genus. By B.R. Maslin (Nov. 2005, revised July 2006)
Some Background Information
- Wattle become of Acacia? A simplified version of the taxonomic and nomenclatural issues relating to the impending division of Acacia.
- Proposal to conserve the name Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) with a conserved type. Formal proposal by Orchard and Maslin to retypify Acacia with a new type (a hyperlink to the internet version of the journal published by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy in which this proposal appears, namely, Taxon 52(2): 362-363, 2003).
- Nomenclatural and classification history of Acacia . An unpublished paper by Maslin, Orchard and West providing background and supplementary information relevant to the Orchard and Maslin (2003) proposal to conserve the name Acacia . (This is essentially a detailed version of the ‘Wattle become of Acacia' article that is listed above.)
Further Information
Additional information on the taxonomy of Acacia is presented elsewhere on Worldwidewattle.
Please note: This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
