Which term refers to a plant variety that has been created or selected and maintained through human cultivation?

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

Answer: (B)

Cultivar describes a plant variety created or chosen by people and kept through ongoing cultivation. A cultivar is a named, uniform population that shows specific traits and is propagated to preserve those characteristics generation after generation. Humans select and breed the plant to enhance or fix certain features, and propagation methods (often asexual, like cuttings or tissue culture) help keep the traits stable. This distinguishes it from a natural variety, which occurs in nature without human selection; a clone, which is an exact genetic copy produced vegetatively; and a hybrid, which comes from crossing different plants and may not remain stable unless maintained as a cultivar. For example, a rose cultivar might be named and propagated to consistently express its particular color and form.