variety

noun

(L. varietas: diversity, variety) In taxonomy, the rank of taxa below subspecies but above forma; a plant which retains most of the characteristics of the species, but differs in some way such as flower or leaf color, size of mature plant, etc. A variety is added to the specific binomial and preceded by `var`., such as saxatilisi in the epithet Juniperus communis var. saxatilis. The variety is now largely abandoned as a botanical confusion with horticultural varieties.