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==Species, hybrids and cultivars==
==Species, hybrids and cultivars==
In nature, species are usually pretty uniform in [[habit]], [[foliage]], [[flowers]] and [[fruit]]. Variation is part of evolutionary processes, and these differences are assigned the subdivisions of [[subspecies]], [[varietas]] and [[forma]] for classification. A [[sub-species]] is like a mini-species, which has distinct morphological or genetic differences and sometimes distinct distribution geographically. A varietas is a wild variety, with differences from the species being less clear-cut. Forma is used for variations in color, and for similar minor differences. These differences remain more or less uniform in the wild, but under cultivation can lead to [[hybrid]]s where the distinctions blur.
These hybrids of different species can be named by gardeners, and propagated to maintain them. They can happen by accident, when growing the species close to each other, or on purpose, by hand pollinating from one species to the other. The offspring will share characteristics of both parents. A hybrid has an x in the name, indicating it is a cross between to species. So the ''Camellia'' x'' williamsii'' (''C. japonica'' x'' C. saluenensis'') is a cross between the two species in parenthesis, which was named williamsii, most likely after the guy who hybridized the two species. Seedlings from such a cross - if the cross is fertile - may produce a fair amount of variation. Some of these might get selected and given cultivar names, eg. ''C.'' x ''williamsii'' 'Mary Christian'. Sometimes, the parentage of a cultivar is unknown, so it does not even get a species name attached to it, simply the cultivar name, such as ''C.'' 'Leonard Messel'. Hybrids also occur naturally in the wild.
Plants don't always have to be from the same genera to cross them. Some [[genera]] are closely related, enough so that they can be hybridized. One example is the crossing that has been done between ''Cupressus'' and ''Chamaecyparis'' to produce the intergeneric hybrid named x ''Cuprossocyparis''. An "x" at the beginning of a name indicates such an cross between two genera. This name is applied to all crosses between the two genera, no matter who makes them, though individual cultivars may be selected, propagated and named. Grafts between genera are rarely possible, but there are a few known cases. One is known as + ''Laburnocytisus adamii'', with the "+" indicating a graft.
A [[cultivar]] ('''culti'''vated '''var'''iety) is any hybridized or selected plant which has clearly distinct, uniform and stable characteristics, and which can be propagated in any way, whether it be seeds or cloning. Characteristics may have to be maintained by removing those offspring which are not "true", meaning they vary from the characteristics of the cultivar.
[[Sports]] are mutations that result in plants that differ from their parents. A mutation which can be propagated can be named like any other cultivar and maintained. This is how many variegated cultivars occur. Not all sports are stable, meaning that they can revert back to the characteristics of their parents.
==Monocots and dicots==
==Monocots and dicots==
All plants that flower are classified as either monocotyledons ([[monocot]]s) or dicotyledons ([[dicot]]s). Monocots have one [[seed leaf]] (cotyledon) when they [[sprout]], and all their leaves have veins running parallel to their length, slender, non-woody [[stem]]s ([[palms]] are the exception), and their flower parts are arranged in threes. Their modified sepals look like petals. Dicots have 2 seed leaves when they sprout, their foliage has a network of veins, they have thick or woody stems, and flower parts (enclosed in leaf-like sepals) are arranged in multiples of 4, 5, 7 or more.
All plants that flower are classified as either monocotyledons ([[monocot]]s) or dicotyledons ([[dicot]]s). Monocots have one [[seed leaf]] (cotyledon) when they [[sprout]], and all their leaves have veins running parallel to their length, slender, non-woody [[stem]]s ([[palms]] are the exception), and their flower parts are arranged in threes. Their modified sepals look like petals. Dicots have 2 seed leaves when they sprout, their foliage has a network of veins, they have thick or woody stems, and flower parts (enclosed in leaf-like sepals) are arranged in multiples of 4, 5, 7 or more.
