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Cultivar

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture;
General Biology

   This Osteospermum 'Pink Whirls' is a successful cultivar.
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   This Osteospermum 'Pink Whirls' is a successful cultivar.

   A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has received a name under the
   International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (the ICNCP,
   commonly known as the "Cultivated Plant Code"). For this, it must be
   distinct from other cultivars and it must be possible to propagate it
   reliably, in the manner prescribed for that particular cultivar. Status
   as a cultivar is a quite limited one, with nomenclatural consequences
   only; it offers no legal protection.

   The word cultivar is a portmanteau coined from "cultivated" and
   "variety" but is not interchangeable with the botanical rank of
   variety, nor with the legal term " plant variety".

Definition

   Article 2.1 of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated
   Plants states that a cultivar is the "primary category of cultivated
   plants whose nomenclature is governed by this Code." and defines a
   cultivar as "an assemblage of plants that has been selected for a
   particular attribute or combination of attributes, and that is clearly
   distinct, uniform and stable in its characteristics and that, when
   propagated by appropriate means, retains those characteristics" (Art.
   2.2).

Nature of a cultivar

   A cultivar is a particular variety of a plant species or hybrid that is
   being cultivated and/or is recognised as a cultivar under the ICNCP.
   The concept of cultivar is driven by pragmatism, and serves the
   practical needs of horticulture, agriculture, forestry, etc.

   There is not necessarily a relationship between any cultivar and any
   particular genome. The ICNCP emphasizes that different cultivated
   plants may be accepted as different cultivars, even if they have the
   same genome, while cultivated plants with different genomes may be a
   single cultivar. In some cultivars, the human involvement was limited
   to making a selection among plants growing in the wild. Other cultivars
   are strictly artificial: the plants must be made anew every time, as in
   the case of an F1 hybrid between two plant lines. It is not required
   that a cultivar can reproduce itself. The "appropriate means of
   propagation" vary from cultivar to cultivar. This may range from
   propagation by seed which was the result of natural pollination to
   laboratory propagation. Many cultivars are clones propagated by
   cuttings, grafting, etc.

Cultivar names

   Cultivars are identified by uniquely distinguishing names. Names of
   cultivars are regulated by the International Code of Nomenclature for
   Cultivated Plants, are registered with an International Cultivar
   Registration Authority and conform to the rules of the ISHS
   (International Society for Horticultural Science) Commission for
   Nomenclature and Cultivar Registration. There are separate registration
   authorities for different plant-groups. In addition, cultivars may get
   a trademark name, protected by law (see Trade Designations and "Selling
   Names", below).

   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.
   Cultivar epithets published before 1 January 1959 were often given a
   Latin form and can be readily confused with the specific epithets in
   botanical names: after that date, newly coined cultivar epithets must
   be in a modern vernacular language to distinguish them from botanical
   epithets.

          Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans'
          Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Aureomarginata' (pre-1959 name, Latin
          in form)
          Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Golden Wonder' (post-1959 name,
          English language)
          Pinus densiflora 'Akebono' (post-1959 name, Japanese language)

          Some incorrect examples:

                Cryptomeria japonica "Elegans" (double quotes are
                unacceptable)
                Berberis thunbergii cv. 'Crimson Pygmy' (this once-common
                usage is now unacceptable, as it is no longer correct to
                use "cv." in this context; Berberis thunbergii 'Crimson
                Pygmy' is correct)
                Rosa cv. 'Peace' (this is now incorrect for two reasons:
                firstly, the use of "cv."; secondly, "Peace" is a trade
                designation or "selling name" for the cultivar R. 'Madame
                A. Meilland' and should therefore be printed in a
                different typeface from the rest of the name, without any
                quote marks, for example: Rosa Peace.)

   Where several very similar cultivars exist, these are termed Cultivar
   Groups; the name is in normal type and capitalised as in a single
   cultivar, but not in single quotes, and followed by "Group" (or its
   equivalent in other languages)

          Brassica oleracea Capitata Group (the group of cultivars
          including all typical cabbages)
          Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group (the group of cultivars
          including all typical cauliflowers)
          Hydrangea macrophylla Groupe Hortensis (in French) = Hydrangea
          macrophylla Hortensia Group (in English)

   Where cited with a cultivar name the Cultivar Group should be enclosed
   in parentheses, as follows:

          Hydrangea macrophylla (Hortensia Group) 'Ayesha'

   Some cultivars and Cultivar Groups are so well "fixed" or established
   that they "come true from seed", meaning that the plants from a seed
   sowing (rather than vegetatively propagated) will show very little
   variation. In the past, such plants were often called by the terms
   "variety", "selection" or "strain"; these terms (particularly
   "variety", which has a very different botanical meaning – see below)
   are best avoided with cultivated plants. Normally, however, plants
   grown from seed taken from a cultivar can be very variable and such
   seeds or seedling plants should never be labelled with, or sold under,
   the parent cultivar's name (See an article by Tony Lord of The RHS
   Plant Finder).

Trade designations and "selling names"

   Cultivars that are still being developed and not yet ready for release
   to retail sale are often coded with letters and/or numbers before being
   assigned a name. It is common for this code name to be quoted alongside
   the new cultivar name or trade designation when the plant is made
   available commercially (for example Rosa Fascination = 'Poulmax') and
   this may continue, in books or magazines and on plant labels, for
   several years after the plant was released. Because a name that is
   attractive in one language may have less appeal in another country, a
   plant may be given different selling names from country to country.
   Quoting the code allows the correct identification of cultivars around
   the world and helps to avoid the once-common situation where the same
   plant might, confusingly, be sold under several different names in one
   country, having been imported under different aliases.

   Another form of what the Cultivated Plant Code (ICNCP) calls a trade
   designation is the plant "variety", as defined in the UPOV Convention.
   Not to be confused with the botanical rank of variety.

Cultivars in the natural world

   Many cultivars are "naturalized" in gardening, in other words they are
   planted out and largely left to their own devices. With pollination and
   regrowth from seed, true natural processes, the distinct cultivars will
   disappear over time. The cultivar's genetic material however may become
   part of the gene pool of a population, where it will be largely but not
   completely swamped. Cultivars that have originated as hybrids of
   different species are exotic, as is a plant from a different continent,
   or even a different part of the same country.

Legal points

   With plants produced by genetic engineering becoming more and more
   widely used, it is important to note that the companies producing these
   plants (or plants produced by traditional means) often claim a patent
   on their product. Thus the notion that "letting seed germinate and grow
   into a crop is the most natural thing in the world" is no longer
   appropriate; it can be illegal to harvest seeds (even in one's own
   fields) from a patented "variety" (which may or may not also be a
   cultivar) except for personal use. Such plants are often labelled
   "PBR", which stands for " plant breeders' rights", or "PVR", which
   stands for "plant variety rights").

   The practice of patenting living plants is often considered unethical,
   especially where a "variety" has simply been selected from a wild
   population or is a chance sport among wild or cultivated plants.
   However, where the "variety" is the result of a deliberate breeding
   program by a nurseryman or plant breeder it may be the result of years
   of dedicated work involving painstaking trialling and selection. The
   patent (which is itself expensive to obtain) is thought to protect the
   breeder's right to obtain some financial reward for their work,
   normally for a limited period and geographical area.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
