In botanical nomenclature, conservation is a nomenclatural procedure governed by Art. 14 of the ICBN. Its purpose is The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature is the set of rules according to which plants are given their formal botanical names (scientific names). ...

"to avoid disadvantageous nomenclatural changes entailed by the strict application of the rules, and especially of the principle of priority [...]" (Art. 14.1).

It is possible only for names at the rank of family, genus or species. The procedure starts by submitting a proposal to the journal Taxon (published by the IAPT). This proposal should present the case both for and against conservation of a name. Any decision concerning conservation is tentative until ratification by an International Botanical Congress, after which the name will be included in an Appendix of the ICBN. Besides conservation of a name (Art. 14) the ICBN also offers the option of rejection of a name (Art. 56). Rejection is possible for a name at any rank. In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... The International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) is devoted to plant systematics, taxonomy and nomenclature. ... International Botanical Congress (IBC) is a large-scale meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, from all over the world. ...

Conservation may be restricted to the spelling of a name: Euonymus (not Evonymus), Guaiacum (not Guajacum), Hieronyma (not Hyeronima or Hieronima), etc. See orthographical variant Species Euonymus alatus - Winged Spindle Euonymus americanus - Strawberry-bush Spindle Euonymus atropurpureus - Eastern Burning-bush Euonymus europaeus - European Spindle Euonymus fortunei - Fortunes Spindle Euonymus japonicus - Japanese Spindle Euonymus obovatus - Euonymus occidentalis - Western Burning-bush The spindles, genus Euonymus, comprise about 170-180 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and... Species Six species, including: Guaiacum officinale Guaiacum sanctum Guaiacum is a small genus of six species of shrubs and trees in the family Zygophyllaceae, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas. ... Species Hieronyma alchorneoides Hieronyma colombiana etc. ... In botanical nomenclature, an orthographical variant is a variant spelling of the same name. ...

Zoological nomenclature, as governed by the ICZN, has a procedure with a similar purpose. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a set of rules in zoology that have one fundamental aim: to provide the maximum universality and continuity in classifying all animals according to taxonomic judgment. ...