Which term describes a distinct plant variety that has been developed and maintained by human cultivation?

Which term describes a distinct plant variety that has been developed and maintained by human cultivation?

• A. Variety
• B. Hybrid
• C. Cultivar
• D. Clone

Answer: (C)

In horticulture, the term for a distinct plant variety that has been developed and maintained by human cultivation is cultivar. A cultivar is a cultivated variety that is given a name and kept uniform through deliberate propagation to preserve its traits. Breeders or gardeners select desirable characteristics—such as flower color, fruit quality, growth habit, or disease resistance—and reproduce the plant in ways that maintain those traits, often using vegetative methods so every plant remains true to the original. This differs from a botanical variety, which is a naturally occurring subdivision of a species and not necessarily maintained by human selection; a hybrid results from crossing two different parents and may not remain stable in subsequent generations; and a clone refers to plants that are genetically identical to a single plant, typically produced vegetatively, but the named category used in catalogs for a cultivated plant is cultivar.

In horticulture, the term for a distinct plant variety that has been developed and maintained by human cultivation is cultivar. A cultivar is a cultivated variety that is given a name and kept uniform through deliberate propagation to preserve its traits. Breeders or gardeners select desirable characteristics—such as flower color, fruit quality, growth habit, or disease resistance—and reproduce the plant in ways that maintain those traits, often using vegetative methods so every plant remains true to the original. This differs from a botanical variety, which is a naturally occurring subdivision of a species and not necessarily maintained by human selection; a hybrid results from crossing two different parents and may not remain stable in subsequent generations; and a clone refers to plants that are genetically identical to a single plant, typically produced vegetatively, but the named category used in catalogs for a cultivated plant is cultivar.