The Wild

This is going to be a somewhat technical post meant to clarify some of the terminology associated with classification. In order to write correctly it is essential to know and use the correct terminology. When referring to a tree, I often find myself unsure of the technical term. Should I call it a species, a variety, or is it from a certain family? Below is a table copied from this site: Tree Classification

Term	Explanation	Example
Family	Single or group of genera that closely or uniformly resemble each other in general appearance and technical character	Aceraceae
Genus	A group of tree species that have fundamental traits in common but that differ in other, lesser characteristics	Maple (Common Name) Acer (Scientific Name)
Species	A natural group of trees in the same genus made up of similar individuals	Red Maple Acer rubrum
Variety	A subdivision of a species having a distinct, though often inconspicuous, difference and breeding true to that difference	Acer rubrum var. drummondi
Cultivar	A variety, selected for one or more outstanding characteristics, that is being cultivated and usually reproduced by asexual means to preserve genetic makeup	Acer rubrum ‘Autumn Flame’
Superior Selection	Individual trees that display one or more notable, desirable traits (also called superior trees)
Hybrid	A tree that results from mating genetically unlike individuals (can occur in nature or artificially)
Clone	A tree derived vegetatively from one parent, thereby being genetically identical to the parent tree Grafting and budding are also reproductive techniques used to develop clones, but complete genetic uniformity is not possible unless root stock is part of the parent material. The genetic makeup of cultivars are preserved through asexual propagation methods. Some cultivars are developed from native trees, others from exotics.