Activity 3: Rules for Writing Cultivar Names

The following activity is an introduction to the rules associated with writing cultivar names, and provides some fundamental information in this regard.

Instructions

Watch the video below, with particular focus on the following areas:

• How to distinguish cultivars and write their names.
• the difference between common names and cultivars! (students often confuse them)
  

Video: The Rules for Writing Cultivar Names (3:18)

Important Note about the use of cultivars in reveg/restoration projects

Because cultivars are selected and asexually propagated in order to retain their particular qualities (eg flower or leaf colour and shape, fruiting, habit and form of the plant), they are not appropriate to use in native plant revegetation or restoration projects that aim to return an environment to something close to its original state.  In these situations it is important to try and eco-source local material (eg seed) so that plants that have the genetic makeup that best suits that area, are returned there (eg local plants will have particular adaptations to survive in that environment).