"Cultivar
A mutation or distinct form of a plant, initially found in nature and propagated asexually with the objective of maintaining those characteristics.
Cultivariant
Plant cultivars that appear somewhat different from their vegetative parent due to propagation from non-typical foliage."

Seems to be a variant of the cultivar or a variant that is not a "normal" form of the plant.

... just what I could dig up.

Good Day ...

In general, I think you can just subsitute the word "mutt" for cultivar, cultivariant, etc., and not worry about the rest. ;-)

Patrick Alexander

"MUTT" would be more appropriate for the plant that are grown from seeds that people collect from cultivars and try to 'trade' on various grandening sites or sell on auction sites.

Cultivariant is term that if most often used by 'conifer people'. It can be a witches broom, a somatic mutation or a result of topophysis. Topophysis has to do with where you take the scion or cuttings on a plant may have an effect on the way that the plant grows. If a cutting is taken from an upright shoot the plant will grow upright but if you take a cutting from a horizontal growing shoot the resulting plant will have a horizontal growth habit.

'conifer people'

Is that a cross between a botanist and a Pine tree ?? LOL

Good Day ...

'Conifer People' are that rare variant of humans that have trachieds in their vascular systems.

Actually it is a polite way of refering to a group of plant euthisiasts that have an un-natural obsession with conifers. I have a more colorful euphamism for them but it would probably get me 'spiked'.

HappyHoe,

"'Conifer People' are that rare variant of humans that have trachieds in their vascular systems."

OK, but does that make them cultivariants?

I thought that was very clever about the tracheids. I let out a huge guffaw. (And I kinda am one of those conifer people!) Thanks!

I stopped by a venerable used bookstore yesterday and came across an old booklet on propagation published by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden...
I found it quite interesting that it was emphasized our seed sources should be derived from credible seed companies and that the topic of collected seed approached from a more proper context...
(a pause for contemplation...)

A grafted sidebranch or rooted cutting that keeps growing as a mound or mat, without throwing up a lead is an example of a cultivariant. Abies procera 'Glauca Prostrata' is a cultivariant of A. procera 'Glauca'. Not obvious from the naming this time but an otherwise similar instance: Sequoia sempervirens 'Prostrata' is a cultivariant of S. sempervirens 'Cantab'. If one of these throws up a lead(s), as S. s. 'Prostrata' often does, it soon becomes apparent that it's really just an S. s. 'Cantab'. Such cultivariants are faux cultivars, not actually discrete entities.

From Mojave's source definitions:
"and propagated asexually with the objective of maintaining those characteristics."
Seems like that would apply to cultivariants like the 'Prostrata' conifers also. Only the "characteristics" would be latent ones.

"Plant cultivars that appear somewhat different from their vegetative parent due to propagation from non-typical foliage."

"Alternative propagation from typical foliage" perhaps would be more in line with how the conifer people use the term. But, then, how many conifers are propagated from foliage? Except maybe in tc?
lol.

As long as the conifer people know what they are talking about, I guess....

It seems like latency and predictability should be tied in to the essential meaning of cultivariant.

I propose though that the term be applicable to reverse variegation "cultivars" that seem to have a recurring genesis. Many variegated plants will flip their color scheme on a regular basis. Or, a singular variegated variety will predictably throw all golden foliage. If those reverse or purely aureate forms are routinely propagated, they deserve special (or sub-special) status that could be covered under the canopy word "cultivariant" if it isn't already. Somebody waive your wand and make it so.

'Conifer People'= pine nuts

There is quite a bit of literature about "clonal variants" and "clonal variation". It seems, logically, the term should have roughly the same meaning as "cultivariant".