What is a species and what is a genus?
Taxonomy is the science of defining biological relationships, creating groups of related organisms, and naming organisms. In the field of allergy it is important to know something about the biology and organization of the organisms that produce allergens.All organisms can be arranged in a sort of biological organizational chart. Each level of the chart has a particular name. At the top is “Kingdom” where all living things are divided into 5 major groups including plants, animals, and fungi. Beneath kingdom there are “orders”.The next large grouping is “families”. In allergy you will often hear experts refer to families of allergenic organisms. For example the Chenopodiaceae family includes pigweed, Russian thistle, kochia, and lamb’s quarters.Beneath Family, organisms fall into a genus (plural is “genera”). The genus name is the first part of the scientific name of an organism. All the members of a genus are closely related and exhibit many of the same growth characteristics.The final
