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(forma) The lowest rank normally used by practising taxonomists for sporadic distinct variants that sometimes occur in populations. These may be relatively minor genetic variants (i.e. based on one or a few linked characters) but their effects can be conspicuous. The most obviously recognizable forms are those in which flower colour is modified (e.g. albino individuals occurring in a population of purple-flowered plants). The category form may relate directly to species but it is more commonly used to distinguish variants of subspecies and varieties.
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