Dear Hibiscus Enthusiast: You have probably noted that the nomenclature situation for tropical hibiscus rosa-sinensis is in chaos. If you are in agreement with the below, please sign this petition that will be presented to the appropriate authorities, i.e., the ISHS [International Society Horticultural Sciences] and ICRA [International Cultivar Registration Authority]. This measure seems essential if the international hibiscus nomenclature is to regain functionality. Under the auspices of the ISHS, by mandate of the United Nations, the Australian Hibiscus Society was given the ICRA designation for rosa-sinensis, and they have chosen Mr. Brian Cheers as the current ICRAR [International Cultivar Registration Authority Registrar] Problems: 1] The ICRA registry has not been updated since 2008. Without this registry, it is very difficult for persons wishing to name new varieties to determine what names have already been used. And, for those wishing to see what new varieties exist, the information is not available. 2] The American Hibiscus Society is grappling with a renovation of their nomenclature system and new registrations by them are to be approved by the ICRAR. There is no indication this is happening. 3] The International Hibiscus Society has developed a nomenclature data base and an on line, semi-automated registration system in cooperation with the ICRA where pending registrations are automatically submitted to the ICRAR for approval. Almost no processing of pending applications has been made in the past year despite a backlog of thousands. Essentially, for all intents and purposes the system is non functional. To better understand the magnitude of this problem please check the current IHS registration pending list, which is incomplete as it is so large some of the pending registrations have been moved off line for safe storage. http://www.internationalhibiscussociety.org/SEArchive/RegPending.php Solutions: It is requested that the ISHS, charged with overseeing all ICRA's, exercise their authority to resolve these problems. At a minimum the follow seems mandatory: 1] Treatment of the current registrations pending, and processing of future registration pending applications in a timely fashion. This should be done on an as submitted basis [first come first serve], and current pending registrations should not be held up endlessly awaiting input on other pending registrations such as those of the American Hibiscus Society. This has been a past excuse for the last several years, but it has been counter productive in that it has brought the system to a standstill resulting in massive duplicate naming. 2] Maintain a properly compiled registry/database with regular public updates, preferably bi-annual or annually at the very minimum