Natives or nativars?

A 'nativar' is a term applied to a cultivar of a native species. Cultivars are selected from native species but are chosen for a certain attribute, such as more intense fall leaf color, or flower color, or height. So is a nativar good enough to use in native plantings? Well it depends on the context. If you are planting a landscape restoration project in a wild area its probably a bad idea. If that nativar was grown in a nursery in the midwestern United States to be planted in the heat of Texas, it is definitely a bad idea. A study published in May 2018 in PLOS 1 journal found that native red maple trees had higher water use efficiency as air temperatures increased as compared to cultivars. The study found there are physiological differences due to genetic backgrounds and local environments. The study is titled "Variation in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance among red maple (Acer rubrum) urban planted cultivars and wildtype trees in the southeastern United States" by Eleanor C. Lahr, Robert R. Dunn, and Steven D. Frank