International Cultivar Registration Authorities (ICRA), whether they represent agricultural, forestry or horticultural disciplines, are appointed by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) through its Commission for Nomenclature and Cultivar Registration and are contracted to operate within the provisions of the current edition of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). iBrugs is the only ICRA authority to register Brugmansia.
The purpose of an ICRA is to:
Promote fixity and stability in the nomenclature of the categories cultivar and groups within designated plant taxa and to produce and promote authoritative checklists and registers of all names known to have been in use in such taxa.
The primary functions of an ICRA are:
(a) To register cultivar and group names in the denomination class for which they have accepted responsibility, and to ensure their publication and establishment.
(b) To record, publish, and make otherwise available, full lists of all cultivar and Group names in that denomination class whether they are in current use or are part of the historical record so as to provide the world community with authoritative listings of names.
(c) To maintain records, in as great a detail as is practical, of the origin, characteristics and history of each cultivar and Group in that denomination class.
It is NOT the function of an ICRA:
(a) To conduct trials.
(b) To judge if one cultivar or Group is more meritorious or more useful than another.
(c) To judge distinctness of cultivars or Groups.
NOTE: Although an ICRA does not in itself conduct trials, the organization sponsoring an ICRA often does.