Editing Cultivar (section)

== Formal definition ==

{{Main|International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants}}

The ''Cultivated Plant Code'' notes that the word cultivar is used in two different senses: first, as a "classification category" the cultivar is defined in Article 2 of the ''International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants'' (2009, 8th edition) as follows: ''The basic category of cultivated plants whose nomenclature is governed by this Code is the cultivar.''<ref>Cultivated Plant Code. Art. 2.1 {{Harvnb|Brickell|2009|p=6}}</ref> There are two other classification categories for cultigens, the [[Grex (horticulture)|grex]]<ref>Cultivated Plant Code. Art. 4 {{Harvnb|Brickell|2009|p=12}}</ref> and the [[Cultivar group|group]].<ref>Cultivated Plant Code. Art. 3 {{Harvnb|Brickell|2009|pp=10–12}}</ref> The ''Code'' then defines a ''cultivar'' as a "taxonomic unit within the classification category of cultivar". This is the sense of ''cultivar'' that is most generally understood and which is used as a general definition.

{{blockquote|''A cultivar is an assemblage of plants that (a)&nbsp;has been selected for a particular character or combination of characters, (b)&nbsp;is distinct, uniform and stable in those characters, and (c)&nbsp;when propagated by appropriate means, retains those characters.''<ref>Cultivated Plant Code. Art. 2.2 {{Harvnb|Brickell|2009|p=6}}</ref>}}

A cultivar may be given a [[vernacular]] name or a number.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stoskopf |first1=Neal C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMfADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA497 |title=Plant Breeding: Theory And Practice |last2=Tomes |first2=Dwight T. |last3=Christie |first3=B. R. |last4=Christie |first4=Bertram R. |date=2019-09-05 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-000-23259-2 |language=en}}</ref>