International Botanical Congress

International Botanical Congress (IBC) is a large-scale meeting of botanists in all scientific fields, from all over the world. Authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS), congresses are held every six years with the venue circulating around the world. The latest was the XVII IBC in Vienna, a hundred years after the second congress, II IBC, and the next will be held in Melbourne, Australia, 24-30 July 2011^[1].

The IBC has the power to alter the ICBN. Formally the power resides with the Plenary Session, but in practice this just approves the decisions of the Nomenclature Section. The Nomenclature Section meets before the actual Congress and deals with all proposals to modify the ICBN: this includes ratifying recommendations on conservation. To reduce the risk of a hasty decision the Nomenclature Section adopts a 60% majority as needed for any change.

[2]	Year	City	Country
I	1900	Paris	France
II	1905	Vienna	Austria
III	1910	Brussels	Belgium
IV	1926	Ithaca	United States
V	1930	Cambridge	United Kingdom
VI	1935	Amsterdam	Netherlands
VII	1950	Stockholm	Sweden
VIII	1954	Paris	France
IX	1959	Montreal	Canada
X	1964	Edinburgh	United Kingdom
XI	1969	Seattle	United States
XII	1975	Leningrad	Soviet Union
XIII	1981	Sydney	Australia
XIV	1987	Berlin	Germany
XV	1993	Tokyo	Japan
XVI	1999	St. Louis	United States
XVII	2005	Vienna	Austria
XVIII	2011	Melbourne	Australia