The word
cultivar originated from the need to distinguish between wild plants and those with characteristics that arose in cultivation, presently denominated
cultigens. This distinction dates to the Greek philosopher
Theophrastus (370–285 BC), the "Father of Botany", who was keenly aware of this difference. Botanical historian Alan Morton noted that Theophrastus in his
Historia Plantarum (
Enquiry into Plants) "had an inkling of the limits of culturally induced (
phenotypic) changes and of the importance of genetic constitution" (
Historia Plantarum, Book 3, 2, 2 and
Causa Plantarum, Book 1, 9, 3). The
International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses as its starting point for modern
botanical nomenclature the
Latin names in
Linnaeus' (1707–1778)
Species Plantarum (tenth edition) and
Genera Plantarum (fifth edition). In
Species Plantarum, Linnaeus enumerated all plants known to him, either directly or from his extensive reading. He recognised the rank of
varietas (botanical "variety", a rank below that of
species and
subspecies) and he indicated these varieties with letters of the
Greek alphabet, such as α, β, and δ, before the varietal name, rather than using the abbreviation "var." as is the present convention. Most of the varieties that Linnaeus enumerated were of "garden" origin rather than being wild plants. In time the need to distinguish between wild plants and those with variations that had been cultivated increased. In the nineteenth century many "garden-derived" plants were given horticultural names, sometimes in Latin and sometimes in a vernacular language. From
circa the 1900s, cultivated plants in
Europe were recognised in the Scandinavian, Germanic, and Slavic literature as
stamm or
sorte, but these words could not be used internationally because, by international agreement, any new denominations had to be in Latin. In the twentieth century an improved international
nomenclature was proposed for cultivated plants.
Liberty Hyde Bailey of
Cornell University in
New York,
United States created the word
cultivar in 1923 when he wrote that: The
neologism cultivar was promoted as "euphonious" and "free from ambiguity". The first
Cultivated Plant Code of 1953 subsequently commended its use, and by 1960 it had achieved common international acceptance.
Cultigens '', is considered a cultigen, and is a distinct species from other
wheats according to the
biological species concept. Many different cultivars have been created within this cultigen. Many other cultigens are not considered to be distinct species, and can be denominated otherwise. The words
cultigen and
cultivar may be confused with each other. A
cultigen is any plant that is deliberately selected for or altered in cultivation, as opposed to an
indigen; the
Cultivated Plant Code states that cultigens are "maintained as recognisable entities solely by continued propagation". Cultigens can have names at any of many taxonomic ranks, including those of
grex,
species,
cultivar group,
variety,
form, and cultivar; and they may be plants that have been altered in cultivation, including by
genetic modification, but have not been formally denominated. A cultigen or a component of a cultigen can be accepted as a cultivar if it is recognisable and has stable characters. Therefore, all cultivars are cultigens, because they are cultivated, but not all cultigens are cultivars, because some cultigens have not been formally distinguished and named as cultivars. == Formal definition ==