To answer the original question, a species will be (if identified correctly) written as said above, with the genus capitalized and the species lower case. But also, if it's in print it should be in italics and if hand written it should be underlined. That's the accepted rule, but many just write all names the same. So, if everyone followed the rules we'd know that if it's in italics or underlined it's a species.
Just to clarify, a species is a naturally occurring, distinctly unique member of a group of plants (genus) Members of the same genus share certain characteristics, but a species is unique. Some hybrids do occur naturally, but they are still known as hybrids.
Also, variation occurs in nature too. Sometimes you see a patch of wildflowers and one is kind of different. Well, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a new species. It's just a genetic variation of the same species. These are usually identified with the variety name after the the genus and species (as in
Cattleya luteola var. alba, or whatever.
I agree that selective breeding has forced certain species to seem to have changed. I don't agree that they are essentially hybrids. Many fruits and vegetables have been selectively bred for centuries. I like the big tomatoes better, but I still call them tomatoes.
Hybrid Mode
