# What does fma stand for?



## kiwi (Jan 15, 2016)

Sorry for the ignorance but what does fma stand for? I realise it is the same as variety but what is it an acronym of?


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## Chicago Chad (Jan 15, 2016)

forma


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## kiwi (Jan 15, 2016)

Thanks


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## naoki (Jan 15, 2016)

Different authors use differently, but form is below variety in general. Within species, the rank (in botany) is subspecies, variety, subvariety, form, subform. If there are variation within populations (i.e. yellow and pink flowered individuals coexisting in a single "population"), many people consider it to be forms. If there are yellow flower population and pink flower population, it is more closer to subspecies or varieties. But again, there seems to be fairly different ways to interpret the different ranks among botanists. I'm not sure if there is something defined in the International Code of Nomenclature (probably not). Here is a bit of info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infraspecific_name


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## Ozpaph (Jan 15, 2016)

back to you other post - many people use 'forma' for alba "varieties". But I think common usage often sees the term variety and forma interchanged (with the exception being 'man-named' clones ie Paph druryi 'The King' is a variety and not a botanical forma................messy)


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## PaphMadMan (Jan 16, 2016)

'The King' is a cultivar name, not a variety or form (varietas or forma, var. or fma.) - an horticultural convention (like grex), covered by a separate set of rules, not a scientific concept. Since it refers to a single plant it is effectively a rank below variety or form, or even subform (as well as grex, of course).

There are no clear lines between species, subspecies, variety, subvariety, form and subform as you work your way down the ranks. It is up to the scientist that publishes the name, and reflects their hypothesis about the rank of the taxon. As any scientific hypothesis, it may or may not be generally accepted in the long run. Many names once accepted as varieties would more likely be considered forms now.


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