# Cultivar

> A cultivar (cultivated variety) is a group of cultivated plants selected for distinct, uniform and stable traits that are kept when propagated, by seed or by cuttings.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cultivar.html
- Also written: cultivars, cultivated variety, cv., variety, varietal
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A cultivar is the formal botanical term for a cultivated variety: a population of plants selected for particular traits that is distinct from others, sufficiently uniform, and stable when propagated. The rules for naming cultivars are set by the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). A cultivar can be a seed line or a clonal line.

## In practice

GenetixBay uses "cultivar" in place of "strain" where precision matters. A [clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md) is a clonal cultivar. A seed line that [breeds true](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/true-breeding.md) for its key traits is a seed cultivar. A pack of seed from a one-off cross of two [hybrids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hybrid.md) is, strictly, not yet a cultivar: its plants are not uniform or stable.

Formal cultivar names under the ICNCP are written in single quotes after the species, for example *[Cannabis sativa](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabis-sativa.md)* 'Name'. [Plant variety protection](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/plant-variety-protection.md) systems use similar tests of distinctness, uniformity and stability.

## Don't confuse with

- **Strain**: the popular cannabis word; used loosely for anything from a clone to a brand name.
- **Chemovar**: a cultivar defined by its chemistry.
- **Landrace**: a traditional, locally adapted population, often more variable than a modern cultivar.
- **Variety (botanical rank)**: "var." is a formal taxonomic rank below species, different from a cultivar.

## Related terms

[Strain](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/strain.md), [Chemovar](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chemovar.md), [Clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md), [Landrace](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/landrace.md), [Accession](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/accession.md)

## Read more

- [Why strain names are unreliable: what genetic studies show](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/why-strain-names-are-unreliable.md)
- [Breeder record-keeping and naming ethics](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/record-keeping-naming-ethics.md)

## Sources

1. Brickell CD, et al. (eds). 2016. International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, 9th edition. Scripta Horticulturae 18. ISHS. https://www.ishs.org/scripta-horticulturae/international-code-nomenclature-cultivated-plants-ninth-edition