To provide clarity for the application of indigenous languages in naming Aotearoa / New Zealand vascular plants and bryophytes, an assessment of the rules and recommendations in the International Code of Nomenclature (ICN) is presented, including the use of geographical, personal and plant vernacular names as epithets, diacritical signs, hyphens, combinations of different languages, and epithet authorship. Our recommendation when naming new taxa is to derive names from botanical Latin terminology. We conclude that (1) formal botanical nomenclature and (2) te reo and ta re vernacular plant names are independent, complementary, and mutually supportive classifications, each with different purposes and denoting two functional knowledge systems.

We appraise Waitangi Tribunal claim Wai 262 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, collaboration at the interface of mātauranga Māori and research science, debate whether iwi are active collaborators or informants, and, crucially, defend the credibility and utility of te reo Māori / ta re Moriori and botanical nomenclatural systems.

However, using these indigenous languages in botanical nomenclature is more complex than a simplistic 'more is better', and we identify a number of issues requiring consideration. It is argued that the greater use of te reo Māori and ta re Moriori languages for naming new taxa in the flora of Aotearoa / New Zealand supports the aspirations of Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

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