Difference Between Cultivar and Variety
- The term ‘variety’ is used for botanical taxonomy, while the term’ cultivar’ is used for the products of plant breeding.
- A cultivar is intentionally bred using cultivation methods by plant breeders, whereas a variety is grown naturally without any human influence.
- The nomenclature of cultivar is deferent from that of variety. ...
What is the difference between plants and cultivar plants?
Plants grown from its seeds will often come out true to type. If you remember that "cultivar" stands for "cultivated variety," you will have no problem remembering the difference between the two. Whereas a plain old "variety" is a natural phenomenon, a cultivated variety is a fluke that has been propagated via human intervention.
What is the difference between a cultivated variety and a variety?
If you remember that "cultivar" stands for "cultivated variety," you will have no problem remembering the difference between the two. Whereas a plain old "variety" is a natural phenomenon, a cultivated variety exists only because it has been propagated via human intervention.
What is a cultivar in horticulture?
What Is a Cultivar in Horticulture? A plant cultivar refers to a variation within a plant species that has been developed by a human horticulturist through controlled plant breeding, as opposed to occurring naturally. The term “cultivar” is a portmanteau of "cultivated variety."
What is the difference between a cultivar and a clone?
While often referring to seed produced ‘lines’ of plants, the term cultivar is also used for clones such as those cultivars propagated through cuttings, division, tissue culture and grafting. Wai Chi lychees are both a cultivar and ‘plant variety’. These trees are propagated by marcotting (air layer).
What is an example of a cultivar?
There are many examples of cultivars, such as in crops. Tomatoes and apples have a vast number of cultivars, and there are some cultivars that are obviously man-made, such as seedless grapes and watermelons. Ornamental plants also have cultivars, including orchids and roses.
What is difference between cultivar and hybrid?
An example of a cultivar is Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' or Husker Red penstemon. 'Husker Red' was a particular selection of penstemon that was picked for its red foliage and white blooms. Hybrids are crosses between two species or distinct parent lines and can be developed from a series of crosses between parents.
What is the difference between variety cultivar and genotype?
Genotype is the genetic constitution of the species. Cultivar is something which is cultivated. A single genotype may have several cultivars. Typically a cultivar, or variety, is clonally regenerated.
What cultivar means?
Definition of cultivar : an organism and especially one of an agricultural or horticultural variety or strain originating and persistent under cultivation.
What is another word for cultivar?
•Other relevant words: (noun) tracheophyte, variety, vascular plant.
Can a plant have both a variety and a cultivar?
Forest Pansy) which has attractive dark purple spring foliage and pinkish-purple flowers. Can a plant have both a variety and a cultivar? Sure. One good example is Sunburst Honeylocust.
How do you recognize a cultivar?
A cultivar name consists of a botanical name (of a genus, species, infraspecific taxon, interspecific hybrid or intergeneric hybrid) followed by a cultivar epithet. The cultivar epithet is capitalised and put between single quotes: preferably it should not be italicized.
What is variety in plants?
A plant variety represents a more precisely defined group of plants, selected from within a species, with a common set of characteristics.
How do you make a cultivar?
The techniques used in creating a new cultivar are: mass selection, recurrent selection, top crossing, and synthetic variety development. In mass selection, the source population is examined and desirable plants or seed from those parent plants are selected.
Are all cultivars clones?
Often we will use the terms “cultivars” and “clones” interchangeably. As you will see there is a difference between these two and other closely related terms that landscape architects and professional arborists should be aware of. Clones may not be cultivars, and cultivars may not be clones.
What is meant by hybrid plant?
A hybrid plant is a cross-bred plant that is a result of gardeners cross-pollinating two or more unrelated plant species.
What is an example of a hybrid plant?
Examples of hybrid plants include : Sweet corn: The vast majority of U.S. sweet corn grown are hybrid varieties. The characteristics of these varieties have made it easier for home gardeners to grow and they are sweeter than past crops.
What is a hybrid variety?
Simply put, hybrid varieties are the result of crossing two different breeding lines. They represent the first generation originating from the cross (F1).
What is meant by hybrid species?
1 : an offspring of two animals or plants of different subspecies, breeds, varieties, species, or genera a hybrid of two roses. 2 : a person whose background is a blend of two diverse cultures or traditions.
What is a cultivated variety?
If you remember that "cultivar" stands for "cultivated variety," you will have no problem remembering the difference between the two. Whereas a plain old "variety" is a natural phenomenon, a cultivated variety is a fluke that has been propagated via human intervention. Its continued existence (in the desired form) from one generation to another requires human intercession—just as a cultivated piece of land can retain its appearance and composition only through continual human efforts. In fact, "cultivated" derives from the Latin root meaning "to work the soil" or "to tend to something with religious devotion." That Latin root also gives us such words as "culture" and even "cult."
What is a variety in plants?
In contrast with a cultivar, a "variety" (sometimes abbreviated as var.) can often be found growing and reproducing naturally in the plant kingdom. Plants grown from its seeds will often come out true to type.
How do cultivars come about?
When the full scientific name for a particular plant cultivar is given, the part of the name that indicates the cultivar itself follows the genus name and the species name.
What is a spruce plant?
The Spruce / David Beaulieu. Cultivars (short for "cultivated varieties") are plants you buy that often have been propagated not from seed, but rather vegetatively (for example, via stem cuttings).
Is the plant cultivar capitalized?
Furthermore, its first letter is capitalized, and the name is often set off by single quotation marks. By referring to such plants in this way, we can be more specific about them than if we restricted ourselves to noting genus and species.
Do commercial garden nurseries keep plants?
Commercial garden nurseries keep lots of cultivars in stock. Many of these plants have been "cultivated" or altered to enhance consumer appeal with a special characteristic like vibrant color or large blooms. Native plant nurseries are more likely to offer plants of original genus and species.
Definition of a Cultivar
And then we have cultivars. Cultivars are not naturally occurring where they can reproduce on their own. And as a general rule, a cultivar can only exist and be propagated via human intervention.
How a variety differs from a cultivar
Unlike a cultivar, a variety is truly a unique form or subclass of the parent species. Thus, it’s seeds would produce a plant that is ‘true to type’, meaning that the seed would grow a plant that has the same characteristics as it’s mother plant. This most often happens through random mutation.
How to tell the difference between a cultivar and variety on a plant label
So if you are at a garden center, what do you do? How can you tell the difference? There are several ways to determine if a plant is a cultivar, variety, or straight species. But first we have to review botanical names.
Example of plant label info for varieties versus cultivars
Below is the kind of information you should look for on a plant label to determine if it is a cultivar or hybrid or naturally occurring botanical variety. Pay attention to the naming, and if any word in the name is not italicized, then you should assume that it is a cultivar and not a naturally occurring variety.
The safest way to ensure you have straight species, and not hybrids
A careful examination of a plant label is by far the best way to ensure you are getting a straight species or variety, and not a cultivar. Look for italicized words, and avoid plants with common or special sounding names that are in single quotation marks. Anything with a trademark or patent is also very likely a cultivar.
Conclusion
To summarize, a straight species is just that. A species of plant, it grows all over, and the seed will produce more of the same plant.
What is a cultivar?
Cultivar. The term cultivar is short for cultivated variety. It is a group of plants that have been selectively bred for traits that are maintained across generations. While often referring to seed produced ‘lines’ of plants, the term cultivar is also used for clones such as those cultivars propagated through cuttings, division, ...
What is a plant variety?
Plant variety is a legal term that follows the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention. It is used for the recognition of a cultivated pant (cultivar) as a ‘plant variety’, offering its breeding some legal protections (plant breeder’s rights).
How are Wai Chi Lychees propagated?
Wai Chi lychees are both a cultivar and ‘plant variety’. These trees are propagated by marcotting (air layer).
What is the most misused term in horticulture?
Variety and cultivar are probably the most misused terms in horticulture. In this article I explain the very real differences between a variety and a cultivar. I also introduce the terms hybrid and plant variety (which is different to variety ). It’s a confusing topic but I hope this article makes it clear.
What is a hybrid fruit?
Hybrid. The cross-breeding of 2 plants of different species results in a hybrid . Many of our well known fruits are actually hybrids. For example the orange is actually a hybrid between pomelo ( Citrus maxima) and mandarin ( Citrus reticulata ).
What is the difference between a variety and a subspecies?
Variety is a taxonomic rank that comes after the species name. It represents a distinct phenotype (how it looks/grows) of a species that differs from other varieties across the species’ geographic range. A variety is different to the subspecies rank (used to recognize geographic distinctiveness) because it refers to a taxon seen throughout ...
Is a tomato a variety?
That’s right, your favorite tomato is actually a cultivar, not a variety. The variety name is always written after the species name in lower case and is italicized.
What is a plant variety?
In botany, a plant variety represents a taxonomic category of a lower level than the species category. We can talk of a plant variety when different individuals from the same species evolve differently in a similar habitat, for genetic reasons, and exhibit characteristic changes that are accredited, distinctive, and totally natural.
What is a cannabis cultivar?
'Cultivar' is short for ' Culti vated Var iety', i.e. a horticultural, non-taxonomic category, as you may have already guessed.
What is a subspecies?
Like 'gender' and 'species', 'subspecies' is a classified taxonomic category below the 'species' category. Subspecies are isolated species of other individuals of the same species but in a different habitat.
What is a cultivar?
A cultivar is a cultivated variety, the word is literally a portmanteau of cultivated and variety. This type of plant is cultivated by selecting a specimen that has a desirable characteristic. Just as varieties are a natural grouping within a species, cultivars are artificial and occur as a product of human intervention.
What is a variety in plants?
A variety is a grouping within a species that occurs naturally. In other words, no human intervention is required for a variety to exist. In most cases, varieties will be true to type in that the seedlings will have the parent plants’ unique characteristics. For example, one type of variety is the heirloom variety.
What is a hybrid?
A hybrid is a cross of two varieties. With a hybrid, you get characteristics from each parent plant. In most cases, the parent plants will belong to the same genus. Chili peppers can be hybridized by crossing two self-pollinating varieties after which the seeds are collected. Self-pollinating varieties are those where the farmer or gardener takes special measures to prevent out-crossing, also known as cross-breeding. A bag or a cage may be placed over the plant to prevent unwanted pollination.
What are the benefits of cultivars?
Among the benefits of a cultivar is the fact that the farmer or gardener is able to predict what they are getting.
Is a cultivar a natural or artificial grouping?
Just as varieties are a natural grouping within a species, cultivars are artificial and occur as a product of human intervention. There are many different types of cultivars. In respect to hot peppers, an example of desirable characteristics might be heat or size.
Is a chili pepper a hybrid?
The resulting hybrid chili peppers will typically be hardier and more productive than either of the parent plants, which means that they will have characteristics such as a higher yield or the ability to withstand harsh conditions. A hybrid can occur in nature without human intervention or it can be man-made. If it is deliberately man-made, it is also a cultivar.
