Definition

1. Noun:
   • A plant variety produced by selective breeding: A 'cultivar' is a distinct plant type that has been deliberately developed from a natural species through controlled cultivation and breeding to possess specific, desirable characteristics. It is maintained through specific propagation methods to preserve its unique traits.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • This new apple cultivar is prized for its exceptional sweetness and disease resistance.
  • Botanists registered the rose as a unique cultivar with the international authority.
  • Many popular garden flowers are cultivars that do not exist in the wild.

Advanced Usage

• In botanical nomenclature: The term is often used in formal plant names, appearing in single quotes or preceded by "cv." For example, 'Bloodgood' is a cultivar of the Japanese maple.
• In agriculture and horticulture: Refers to a plant line kept distinct and uniform by vegetative propagation (like cuttings or grafting) or by careful seed selection.

Variants and Related Words

• Cultivate (verb): To prepare and use land for crops or gardening; to grow plants.
• Cultivation (noun): The action of cultivating land or plants; the process of developing a cultivar.
• Variety (noun): In botanical taxonomy, a rank below subspecies; sometimes used more loosely, but a 'cultivar' is a cultivated variety, not necessarily a botanical variety ().

Synonyms

• Cultivated variety: The full form of the term.
• Strain (in some contexts, especially with cloned plants).
• Cultigen: A plant whose origin is primarily due to human cultivation.

Notes on Meaning

• A cultivar is not the same as a naturally occurring subspecies or variety. It is a product of human agricultural or horticultural intervention.
• The defining characteristics of a cultivar (e.g., flower color, fruit size, growth habit) must be stable and reproducible.

Noun

1. a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation