We can organize anything into a hierarchial fashion. What matters is if it is objective or not.
"Although it is trivial to classify anything subjectively in a hierarchical manner, only certain things can be classified objectively in a consistent, unique nested hierarchy. The difference drawn here between "subjective" and "objective" is crucial and requires some elaboration, and it is best illustrated by example. Different models of cars certainly could be classified hierarchically—perhaps one could classify cars first by color, then within each color by number of wheels, then within each wheel number by manufacturer, etc. However, another individual may classify the same cars first by manufacturer, then by size, then by year, then by color, etc. The particular classification scheme chosen for the cars is subjective. In contrast, human languages, which have common ancestors and are derived by descent with modification, generally can be classified in objective nested hierarchies (Pei 1949; Ringe 1999). Nobody would reasonably argue that Spanish should be categorized with German instead of with Portugese."
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/section1.html#nested_hierarchy
It is significant because we can observe the mechanisms or evolution producing nested hierarchies in living populations. We know that if evolution is responsible for the complex species we see today that they should fall into an objective nested hierarchy.
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