Acer represents the genus name while
saccharum represents the species.
Explanation:
In a way to classify organisms, biologists used certain important common features to structure them into groups. The arrangement of living organisms in this hierarchy from the highest level to the lowest is as follows:
Kingdom--> phylum-->class-->order--> Family-->genus--> species.
The largest group of organisms is kingdom while species is the smallest unit of classification.
The common name of the plant used in the question above is sugar maple. Biologist, however, use a standard system to name living organisms. Each kind of organism is given two names, hence the term BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE.
--> The first name is the name of the genus to which the organism belongs.
--> The second name is the name of the species to which it belongs.
Both names are printed in italics with only the genus name having an initial capital letter. Hence, the scientific name of sugar maple is Acer saccharum( in italics).
