Cultivars

A cultivar, short for cultivated variety, is a plant or group of plants that has been produced in cultivation and is distinct, uniform, and stable in its traits, and can be reproduced to retain those traits.

The term reflects the distinction between cultivated plants and their wild relatives. Cultivars arise through human selection of naturally occurring variation, deliberate hybridization, mutation breeding, or polyploidy, and are maintained through propagation, often using vegetative methods to preserve characteristics that seeds might not reliably transmit.

A cultivar is maintained through vegetative propagation to preserve the traits that define it. Some cultivars are propagated by seed if their defining traits are reliably transmitted through seed. Many cultivars are protected by plant breeders’ rights or other intellectual property regimes, which regulate their use and distribution.

Naming follows the standards of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). Cultivar names are in single quotation marks and capitalized, for example Malus domestica 'Honeycrisp'. The species name is used in italicized form in formal writing, with the cultivar name following it. The ICNCP governs naming, description, and registration to ensure uniqueness within a species.

Cultivars apply across crops, ornamentals, fruit trees, and turf grasses, providing uniform performance and appearance for production, landscaping, and consumer use. They are distinct from botanical varieties, which occur naturally within a species and are typically propagated by seeds. Examples include Malus domestica 'Honeycrisp' and Rosa 'Peace'.