Racist Plant Names Are Being Changed

This is the first time that taxonomists (scientists who study organisms and classify them into groups) have considered changing rules to deal with offensive plant names. One proposal in particular hopes to rename over 200 species (including plants, fungi, and algae) whose scientific names contain or are based on the word “caffra.” “Caffra,” derived from the Arabic word “Kaffir” or “Cafri,” is a slur historically used against Black people living in South Africa during apartheid and can be translated to “infidel.”

Moving forward, all of the plant species in question will instead use different variations of “afr,” a reference to the continent of Africa. For example, the coast coral tree, previously known as Erythrina caffra will now be named Erythrina affra. It took almost six full days of what was said to be a grueling back-and-forth debate for the attending taxonomists to finally reach this conclusion.

While many scientists are excited about this progressive move, some show hesitancy. In reference to the proposal passing, Alina Freire-Fierro, a botanist at the Technical University of Cotopaxi in Latacunga, Ecuador said, “This could potentially cause a lot of confusion and problems to users in many fields aside from botany.”

Other plant names have been motioned for change as well, such as the Australian flowering shrub named Hibbertia. While not directly derived from a racial slur, the plant name does have problematic origins. The shrub is named after its discoverer, George Hibbert, an eighteenth-century English merchant.

While on the surface level it may seem harmless, Hibbert was a slave and plantation owner who was a leading member of the pro slavery lobby. Though it is yet to be directly addressed, many hope that plants named after inherently bad people will also meet the criteria for change.

To address future concerns and streamline plant name-changing procedures, the creation of a committee to oversee and address renaming was also put to a vote and passed. The committee will also now have the final say in approving or denying proposed scientific names for future species. 

Botanist Sandy Knapp from the Natural History Museum in London weighed in on the decision, stating, “We have taken a baby step, no more than that. We need to make more changes to the rule book. However, you never get anywhere until you start taking steps, and we have done that at last.”

The transition from Caffra to Affra will be put into motion by the beginning of next month. While this change should be celebrated, many researchers, like Knapp, hope that this will be the first step of many and that other plant names with racist or problematic origins will soon be addressed.

As of now, it’s unclear when the new renaming committee will be put into action and what their next focus will be on. However, its creation alone is a big stride for the taxonomist community. Hopefully, the committee will continue pushing their field into modernity, and we look forward to hearing what plant names they are thinking of changing next.

As of now let us celebrate this small victory and cross our fingers for bigger and better ones.

Source: Nature