What to Know About the Difference Between Cultivars and Varieties

The terms “cultivar” and “variety” are commonly used in plant taxonomy. Once a plant is identified by genus and species, it can be further defined as a cultivar or variety. Both terms represent a deviation from the species standard often affecting plant or bloom size, color, fragrance, leaf type or any other characteristic common to that species.

Plant cultivars are different from plant varieties. Growers and home gardeners alike must take into account that there might be legal restrictions for the propagation of cultivars. Here is what you need to know about purchasing and growing cultivars and plant varieties.

What Is a Cultivar?

A cultivar, short for cultivated variety, is a plant that is propagated through human intervention to develop a desirable characteristic and ensure it retains the characteristics of its parent plant. Cultivars are created from stem cutting, grafting, tissue cultures, or cross-pollination.

Breeding a cultivar often begins by cross-pollinating two self-pollinating parent plants. This is called hybridizing and the process usually involves years of experimentation and expense. Once a hybrid with the intended features is achieved, it is identified as a cultivar.

To maintain the plant’s new feature the cultivar can only be cloned by taking cuttings, grafting, or tissue culture. Attempts to grow identical plants from the seeds of a cultivar usually may not produce the same plant as the parent.1 Instead, it results in a plant that reverts to either one of the parents or something completely different than intended.

Cultivars also begin as natural mutations which, in plant terminology, are referred to as sports. These are accidents of nature and manifest most often in only one or two plants rather than groups of plants.

Correct Labeling For Cultivars

When the full scientific name is given, the cultivar name follows the genus name and the species name with its first letter capitalized. Names of cultivars are often set off by single quotation marks. Identifying plants this way offers more detail about the plant’s features than listing just the genus and species.

For example, Rudbeckia hirta ‘Denver Daisy’ is a cultivar of the species Rudbeckia hirta. The species is fairly easily hybridized to create cultivars with specific colors and growth patterns.

What Is a Variety?

A plant variety is found growing and reproducing naturally in the plant kingdom. It varies from its standard species in some way as a result of natural evolution. Plant varieties are most often found in groupings that have cross-pollinated as adaptions to differences in habitat. Plants grown from the seeds of a species variety are often exact copies of the parent plant.

Correct Labeling for Varieties

The abbreviation “var.” usually follows the genus and species names of a plant variety. This is then followed by the variety’s proper name in lower case italics. An example of this type of adaption is the purple Japanese maple identified taxonomically as Acer palmatum var. atropupureum.

Cultivar vs. Variety: Key Differences

Athough the terms cultivar and variety are often used interchangeably, the plants they represent differ in several ways. How the plant label or description is written is the first and easiest way to tell whether it is a variety or a cultivar. Here are other key differences.

Groups vs. Individual Plants

Plant varieties are found in groups with each member having one or more identical features that differ from the species standard.

Cultivars are individual plants that exhibit a desirable characteristic a grower wishes to retain and repeat.

Natural Occurrence vs. Human Intervention

Plant varieties occur in nature either randomly or as adaptations to changes in the habitat or environment of the species.

A cultivar may occur in nature as a mutation to a single plant (“sport’). However, cultivars are most often the result of selective propagation through hybridizing, grafting, cuttings, or tissue culture.

Seed Viability

Plant varieties produce seeds that develop into replicas of the parent plant.

Some cultivars do not produce seed at all; they have been bred to be sterile on purpose. But even if cultivars reproduce naturally by seed, the seeds of hybrid cultivars are unreliable and often do not result in a clone of the parent plant. A cultivar can be cloned to produce a replica of the parent only by vegetative propagation, using a cutting or other part of the parent plant.

Legal Issues

Plant breeders often protect their new cultivars with plant patents and it is illegal to reproduce a patented plant in any form, whether you are a home gardener or a commercial grower. A plant patent prohibits propagation for 20 years and is non-renewable.2

Before propagating a plant, check the plant tag, nursery catalog, or seed packet for any information about plant patents as well as pending patents (“PP”, followed by a number).

Why Cultivars Are Patented

Cultivars are patented to protect the investment of the grower who develops the plant. Creating a cultivar that consistently results in a plant with a marketable feature or features can take years of experimentation and effort.

A patent gives the developer the sole right to propagate and sell the cultivar or to license that right to another entity. This encourages the creation of new plants by ensuring growers will be compensated for the time and money spent during research and development.

Benefits of Cultivars

• Cultivars often have greater disease resistance than the original species.
• Cultivars feature a particular trait superior to, or at least different from, their original species.
• Cultivars bring to market new plants with desirable characteristics for gardeners and growers.
• Cultivars can eliminate undesirable plant traits such as invasiveness.
• Cultivars can promote and sustain diversity.