Kotimuoto

Kotimuoto is a Finnish term meaning “domestic form” and is used in biology to describe a domesticated variant of a species that is maintained or produced by human activity. It contrasts with the wild form, which occurs in nature without direct human selection. The concept is applied across plants, animals, and other organisms to distinguish human-managed lines from their wild relatives.

In plants and crops, kotimuoto usually corresponds to cultivars or garden forms that are selected for traits such as yield, taste, color, or hardiness. In animal breeding, it refers to domesticated breeds or lines that have adapted to living in human environments, often displaying traits such as tameness, altered size, or different reproductive patterns. The term is descriptive and not tied to a formal taxonomic rank.

Boundaries between kotimuoto and wild forms can be blurred. Ferality, interbreeding with wild relatives, or ongoing human influence may make it difficult to draw a clear distinction. Traits associated with domestication—sometimes described as a domestication syndrome—may involve changes in morphology, behavior, physiology, or life history.

Examples frequently cited include the domestic dog as a kotimuoto of the wolf, cultivated apples and other fruit varieties derived from wild relatives, and garden tulips originating from wild tulip species. The term appears in Finnish scientific literature, breeding contexts, and field guides to help indicate which populations are maintained through human care versus those existing in the wild.