Accessory cloud types can form at various altitude ranges depending on the main clouds with which they are associated. The World Meteorological Organization classifies most accessory clouds as "supplementary features". The height range classification of a supplementary feature is the same as the parent cloud. As an example, the anvil cloud (supplementary feature incus) forms at high altitude but is not classified by the WMO as a high cloud because of its association with the genus cumulonimbus. It is "very rare" for any accessory cloud to generate its own precipitation. However, the parent cloud may generate precipitation. Precipitation from the parent cloud
Cloud newly formed cloud is determined mainly by air mass characteristics such as stability and moisture content. If these characteristics change over time, the genus tends to change accordingly. When this happens, the original genus is called a "mother cloud". If the mother cloud retains much of its original form after the appearance of the new genus, it is termed a "genitus" cloud. One example of this is "stratocumulus cumulogenitus", a stratocumulus cloud formed by the partial spreading of a cumulus type when there is a loss of convective lift. If the mother cloud undergoes a complete change in genus, it