Cultivar

Definition

A cultivar is a named plant variety selected and maintained for particular traits, such as flavor, color, size or season. Golden Delicious apples, Bartlett pears, Meyer lemons and Rainier cherries are all cultivars. Two cultivars of the same fruit can differ in flavor and ripening time, which is why seasons and ripeness cues vary and why a mango may ripen to green or red rather than yellow. Cultivars are usually propagated by grafting. See also: Grafting, Rootstock, and the guide "Growing Yellow Fruit Trees at Home: Getting Started".