Furthermore, a knowledge of the names of trees, their botanical features and their natural history are fundamental to all studies in forestry, environmental science, and botany. Dendrology is the study of botanical trees. A forester may define a tree based on the presence of a substantial trunk, as a source of merchandisable timber. An ecologist is likely to define a tree in terms of the plant's competitive ability, as a unit of casting shade on other plants, and as a producer of photosynthetic compounds. A physiologist would be concerned with the rigidity of the plant, as a plant able to produce lignin and vascular cambium.
Taxonomy is concerned with nomenclature, the assignment of names to organisms.
The forester and environmental scientist learn both in order to communicate effectively with both their colleagues and the general public. These names are used in everyday speech and writing, but they are not precise enough to be used in scientific communication. Science uses a standardized, universal nomenclature using latinized names. Scientific names have followed standard usage since 1753 when Linnaeus published his monumental book entitled Species Plantarum . In scientific writing, both names are either underlined or italicized.