cultigen

English

Etymology

From culti(vated) +‎ -gen or from Latin cultus (“cultivated”) +‎ gēns (“kind”). Coined by American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1918.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌltɪdʒɛn/, /ˈkʌltɪdʒən/

Noun

cultigen (plural cultigens)

(botany, horticulture) A plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans, that is it has resulted from artificial rather than natural selection. [from 1918]
Synonym: anthropogenic plant

Antonym: indigen

Usage notes

Cultigen and cultivar may be confused with one another. Cultigen is a general-purpose term while cultivar is a formal classification category in the ICNCP (“International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants”). In practice most cultigens are cultivars.

Hyponyms

(plant selected by humans): cultivar

Derived terms

cultigenous

References

Bailey, L.H. 1918. The indigen and cultigen. Science ser. 2, 47:306-308
Spencer, R.D. and Cross, R.G. 2007. The cultigen. Taxon 56(3):938-940