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In horticulture, a 'graft-chimaera' may arise in grafting at the point of contact between rootstock and scion and will have properties intermediate to those of its "parents". A graft-chimaera is not a true hybrid but a mixture of cells, each with the genotype of one of its "parents": it is a chimaera. Hence, the once widely used term "graft-hybrid" is not descriptive; it is now frowned upon.
Propagation is by cloning only. In practice graft-chimaeras are not noted for their stability and may easily revert back to one of the "parents".

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Nomenclature

Nomenclature

Article 21 of the ''ICNCP'' stipulates that a graft-chimaera can be indicated either by

★ a formula: the names of both "parents", in alphabetical order, joined by the plus sign "+":
: ''Crataegus'' + ''Mespilus''

★ a name:

★
★ if the "parents" belong to different genera a name may be formed by joining part of one generic name to the whole of the other generic name. This name must not be identical to a generic name published under the ''ICBN''. For example +''Crataegomespilus'' is the name for the graft-chimaera which may also be indicated by the formula ''Crataegus'' + ''Mespilus''. This name is clearly different from ×''Crataemespilus'', the name under the ''ICBN'' for the true hybrid between ''Crataegus'' and ''Mespilus'', which can also be designated by the formula ''Crataegus'' × ''Mespilus''.

★
★ if both "parents" belong to the same genus the graft-chimaera may be given a cultivar name. For example ''Syringa'' 'Correlata' is a graft-chimaera involving ''Syringa vulgaris'' (common lilac) and ''Syringa'' ×''chinensis'' (Rouen lilac, which is itself a hybrid between ''S. vulgaris'' and ''S. laciniata''). No plus sign is used, because both "parents" belong to the genus ''Syringa''.
A graft-chimaera cannot have a species name, because it is simultaneously two species. Although +''Laburnocytisus'' 'Adamii', for example, is sometimes seen written as if it were a species (+''Laburnocytisus adamii''), this is incorrect.