Definition - What does Variety mean?

A variety in the plant world refers to a specific, individual identity within a larger plant family or species. A botanical name includes both the larger family or genus name and the individual variety within the genus.

Knowing the individual variety within a larger plant family group helps people indentify the specific plant they are referring to.

MaximumYield explains Variety

For example, in the name cornus sericea, cornus is the family or genus identity for dogwood and sericea is the individual identifying variety of the common red twig.

With an exception to species like sorbia sorbifolia, which is the sole variety of its species, most plants and animals are specific members of a species and as such are indentified by their specific variety.

This is particularly important in agribusiness where things like corn are grown. Corn is the larger family identifier, but there are also hundreds of specific varieties of corn, which are more suited and organized for their specific growth habits or traits.

This definition was written in the context of botany
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