In botanical nomenclature, a type (typus, nomenclatural type) "is that element to which the name of a taxon is permanently attached ..." (Art 7.1 ICBN). In botany, a type is a specimen or illustration. Botanical nomenclature Plants are given formal names, governed by the ICBN. Within the limits set by the ICBN there is a separate set of rules, the ICNCP, for those plants in cultivation that require separate recognition, so-called cultivars. ... The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature is the set of rules according to which plants are given their formal botanical names (scientific names). ...

A botanical name, by itself, is only a phrase (of one to three words). For a name to be meaningful it is necessary to be sure what it applies to. A botanical name is unique. A taxon can have only one correct name, and one particular name can apply to only one taxon. Therefore, a type fixes a botanical name to a taxon. A type is A botanical name is a formal name conforming to the ICBN. As with its zoological and bacterial equivalents it may also be called a scientific name. Botanical names may be in one part (genus and above), two parts (species) or three parts (below the rank of species). ... A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a grouping of organisms (named or unnamed). ... In botany, the correct name is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular taxonomic placement. ...

• a specimen (a real plant, a part of a plant or a lot of small plants), which is dead, dried and safely stored in a herbarium (or the equivalent for fungi).
• an illustration, especially:
  • a lovely (color) picture from the time when there were devoted botanical artists who upon assingment by a botanist made a faithful and detailed drawing or painting. A time, also, when keeping a dried plant safe for the future was not easy (many specimens that famous botanists looked at were lost or damaged).
  • a detailed picture of something that can be seen only through a microscope. A tiny 'plant' on a microscope slide makes for a poor type: the microscope slide may be lost or damaged, or it may be very difficult to find the 'plant' in question among whatever else is on the microscope slide.

Note that a type only fixes a name to a single representative of the taxon. A type does not determine the circumscription of the taxon. The common dandelion is a controversial taxon. Some botanists consider it to consist of over a hundred species, although most botanists regard it to be a single species. The type of the name Taraxacum officinale is the same whether the circumscription of the species includes all those small species (Taraxacum officinale is a 'big' species) or whether the circumscription is limited to only one small species among the other hundred (Taraxacum officinale is a 'small' species). In this case the name Taraxacum officinale is the same and the type of the name is the same, but the extent of what the name actually applies to varies strongly. Setting the circumscription of a taxon is done by a taxonomist, in a publication. Species See text Dandelion (Taraxacum) is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. ...

Usually, only a species or an infraspecific taxon can have a type of its own. In botanical nomenclature, an infraspecific taxon is a taxon at a rank below that of species (i. ...

A genus has the same type as that of one of its species. For convenience this species may, unofficially, be called its type species, a phrase that has no standing under the ICBN. Only by conservation may a genus have its own type. Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ... In botany, conservation is a nomenclatural procedure governed by Art 14 of the ICBN. Its purpose is to avoid disadvantageous nomenclatural changes entailed by the strict application of the rules, and especially of the principle of priority [...] (Art 14. ...

A family has the same type as that of one of its genera (i.e. usually the type of a species). For convenience this genus may, unofficially, be called its type genus, a phrase that has no standing under the ICBN. Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ...

The ICBN provides a listing of the various kinds of type in Art 9, the most important of which is the holotype. A holotype is one of several possible types. ...