In the example you give, the "var" is meaningless and incorrect. Cultivars are given a name, such as Shocking, which is shown in single quotes and with a capital letter. Therefore, Lilium 'Shocking'. In some cases there will also be a species name, such as Tulipa hageri 'Little Beauty', but Shocking is a hybrid. It used to be common to see cultivars identified without the quotes by the abbreviation "cv.", as in Lilium cv. Shocking, but the correct method now is to use the single quotes. Of course plant seller's catalogues use all sorts of bizarre terminology and you have to be quite quick on your feet to follow it sometimes ;)

"var." or "v." stands for variety and is a name given to an identifiable population of wild plants that may or may not be available in cultivation. The name is not shown in quotes, nor with a capital letter. Not so common with bulbs but there are examples like Cyclamen persicum var. autumnale, which flowers in autumn rather than the normal spring. A variety is a lower level of taxonomy than subspecies. Like a subspecies it should be a genetically distinct grouping of plants, but unlike subspecies it can be found mixed with other varieties of the same species, where subspecies populations must be separate. "Forma" is an even lower level of taxonomy which can be used to refer to particular types of plants, for example a cactus that grows without spines, that occur naturally in the wild but do not form populations because the trait is not genetically reliable.

Thank you for the detailed explanation!
You are right about bizarre terminology in seller's catalogs :-(. In fact, I got confused with the names in McClure and Zimmerman's catalog (a very reputable seller, BTW).

Lilies in McClure and Zimmerman's catalog

As you can see, they use names
Lilium Miss Lucy
and
Lilium var. Shocking
Both 'Miss Lucy' and 'Shocking' are hybrids. In their printed catalog they also use that var. prefix for the 'Scheherazade' lily. I was just wondering if there is any difference between "regular" and "var." hybrid lilies they sell, since I am going to order some of them.
Thanks again for your input!
Alina.

Almost by definition, "var." cannot be applied to hybrids since they are created only in cultivation.

'Scheherazade' is a cultivar. I'm pretty sure it is an Orienpet hybrid, Oriental Lily crossed with a Trumpet Lily. I'm sure you could get more details from the experts on the Lilies Forum.

I have no personal experience with McClure & Zimmerman, but I tend to avoid companies that have no clue what they are talking about. The Garden Watchdog shows a very poor rating for this company.

Scherazade is indeed an Orienpet, and one of the more spectacular ones.

I know that 'Scheherazade' and 'Shocking' are Orienpets, so they are hybrids by definition. 'Miss Lucy' is a first double Oriental hybrid, no question about that also. So, I guess, they "have no clue what they are talking about", as you said.
Their rating is about 78%, not very poor, I think. And their lily bulbs are very nice (according to the folks from the Lily Forum). But I will follow your advice and will not order from them.
Thanks for the help!

Great explanation, Shrubs_n_bulbs. Would it also be correct, using the example above, to say Lilium x 'Shocking' to indicate that it is a hybrid in the genus Lilium?

- Steve