Cultivars are carefully selected plants bred for specific traits. Propagation methods like cuttings, grafting, and controlled seeding maintain these characteristics. While most cultivars result from human intervention, some arise naturally. Strict naming rules govern cultivar designation, though not all cultivated plants qualify. Horticulturists coined “cultivar” to mean “cultivated variety.” Popular ornamentals like roses and daffodils are often cultivars bred for appealing features. Similarly, most agricultural crops are cultivars chosen for improved yield, taste, and disease resistance. Even forestry trees are selected for enhanced timber quality. Wild plants rarely serve as food sources now.
Instead, cultivars dominate our gardens, farms, and forests, embodying human-driven plant evolution. These carefully crafted varieties shape our world, from the flowers we admire to the food we eat and the lumber we use. Cultivars, a subset of Bailey’s cultigen group, are plants intentionally selected or modified by humans. Unlike botanical varieties, cultivars have distinct naming conventions and legal protections. The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) offers legal safeguards for new cultivars introduced to commerce. To qualify, a cultivar must be distinguishable, consistent, and maintain its traits through propagation. Recent developments in plant patents and breeders’ rights have added complexity to cultivar naming practices.
This system ensures that unique, stable plant varieties can be protected and commercialized, encouraging innovation in plant breeding and horticulture. Cultivated plant taxonomy hinges on precise cultivar naming. The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) dictates these rules. A cultivar’s name combines its Latin botanical designation with a unique epithet. This epithet, typically in the local language, distinguishes the cultivar. The Cultivated Plant Code, as ICNCP is known, ensures consistency in this crucial naming process acro