Binomial nomenclature - New World Encyclopedia

On May 1, 1753, the publication of Species Plantarum by Carolus Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy occurred. From the article:

"Binomial nomenclature - New World Encyclopedia
Carolus Linnaeus popularized the use of the binomial nomenclature within the scientific community.
In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species whereby each species is indicated by a two-part name, a capitalized genus name followed by a lowercase specific epithet or specific name, with both names italicized (or underlined if handwritten, not typeset) and both in (modern scientific) Latin. For example, the lion is designated as Panthera leo, the tiger as Panthera tigris, the snowshoe hare as Lepus americanus, the blue whale as Balaenoptera musculus, and the giant sequoia as Sequoiadendron giganteum. This naming system is called variously binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.

Species' names formulated by the convention of binomial nomenclature are popularly known as the "Latin name" of the species, although this terminology is frowned upon by biologists and philologists, who prefer the phrase scientific name. The binomial classification system is used for all known species, extant (living) or extinct.

The species is the lowest taxonomic rank of organism in the binomial classification system.

Naming the diverse organisms in nature is an ancient act, even referenced in the first book of the Bible: "The Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field" (Genesis 2:19-20).

Given the multitude of diverse languages and cultures, however, diverse common names are given to the same species, depending on the location and local language. For example, the "moose" of North America, Alces alces, is the "elk" of Anglophone Europe, while "elk" in North America refers to another species, Cervus canadensis. The use of binomial nomenclature allows the same name to be used all over the world, in all languages, avoiding difficulties of translation or regionally used common names."