Carl Linnaeus was born in Sweden in 1707. He was very interested in plants and gardening but went to university to become a doctor. At that time, making medicines from plants was part of the coursework, so Linnaeus was able to enjoy his hobby whilst studying.

Human - Homo Sapiens
Lion - Felis Leo
Medicinal Leech - Hirudo medicinalis
Heather - Calluna Vulgaris

He travelled throughout Scandinavia to look for plants for his course, but always had a problem when naming them for his studies. The same plant could be called different things in different countries and areas, so he tried to make it easier.

He knew that there were distinct families of plants, with clear members. These members, he called species, so he invented the double Latin name that is found in science books today.

He would call all members of the same family, the same name. For instance, the flower iris, he named Iris, but within that family there are many different kinds of iris, so each one had a different species name eg Iris siberica, Iris graminea, and Iris aphylla
This form of naming was then used for the animal kingdom as well. The cat family is known as Felis and so you get…

lion Felis leo,
tiger Felis tigris,
leopard Felis pardus
wild cat Felis silvestris

The naming system is so successful, that it is used world wide, although there have been many changes to the families that Linnaeus identified. It is always written in italics, and follows the common name of the organism.
We humans are known as Homo sapiens.

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