What's the difference between Native, Cultivar and Nativar?

Native/Straight/Indigenous

Native plants, also called straight or indigenous are well adapted to the climate, light and soil conditions that characterize their ecosystems. A plant that originally occurs within a particular region, ecosystem or habitat as the result of natural processes rather than human intervention. Straight species that are often sold, are actually Cultivars of Natives so do your homework before you buy.

Cultivar

A Cultivar is a specific individual plant man-made. Plants cultivated by humans that don't exist in nature do not support wildlife. However, a HYBRID is any seedling from a cross between two different genomes and a variety is usually a natural mutation. Cultivar refers to a variation within a plant species that has been developed by a human horticulturist through controlled plant breeding as opposed to occuring naturally. To tell if a plant is a Cultivar is by its name, and/or if its name has a Trademark (TM) or registered (R with circle around it) those are the indicators that the plant is a Hybrid or Cultivar. Their purpose versus a Straight species s that they are often selected for disease resistance, color, or compact habit.

Nativar

You could think of it as a Cultivar of a Native. Native plant Cultiavrs are called Nativars for short. A Cultivar derives from Native parents are bred for a particular trait, typically resulting in a loss of genetic diversity. Nativars can have sterile flowers and produce no seeds.