binary nomenclature

The scientific denomination of species follows the rules of binary nomenclature which were originally developed by Carl Linnaeus. The scientific name of a species consists of 2 parts, the names of the genus (e. g. Fagus for the genus of Beeches) and a species-epithet (e. g. sylvatica). Additionally, the (abbreviated) name of the author is specified in order to mention which scientist first described the species (e. g. "L." for Carl Linnaeus). Usually, genera name and species-epithet are italicized. Accordingly, the complete scientific name of Beech is Fagus sylvatica L.


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