What Is a Cultivar Plant?
As gardeners know from Shakespeare, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Roses -- and indeed all plants -- also have scientific names that uniquely identify them. Cultivars are part of the scientific naming system for plants. Does this Spark an idea?
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Background
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The scientific name of a plant identifies the genus first and the species next. For example, a rose's genus is Rosa, and some species are canina, palustris, multiflora and rugosa. The scientific name for the common tomato is Lycopersicon esculentum.
Cultivar
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Beyond genus and species, cultivars further identify a plant. A cultivar is short for "cultivated variety" and it appears after the species name, such as Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'. Cultivars are asexually cloned by plant breeders or produced by crossing-breeding lines. A cultivar always "breeds true," meaning it will be identical to its parent.
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Fun Facts
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Plant breeders have the privilege of naming their cultivars, and they often choose attention-getting names, such as the Big Boy tomato. Some breeders even patent their cultivars. If you want to take cuttings from a patented plant, even if it's growing in your own garden, you must first obtain a license from its patent holder.
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References
- University of Connecticut Plant Database of Trees, Shrubs and Vines: Species and Species Variations
- University of Florida Okeechobee County Extension; Botany is for Master Gardeners; Dan Culbert; 2010
- American Rose Society; The Rose Family; Malcom M. Manners; November 1994
- Fort Valley State University College of Agriculture: Tomatoes
- Oregon State University; Extension Service Garden Hints; Carol Savonen
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
