International Botanists Vote to Change Offensive Plant Name
Last week the International Botanical Congress voted to replace words such as caffra, which appear in over 300 plants, fungi and algae names, with a word that denotes their African origins.
Published on 23rd July 2024
Under the new guidelines, Protea caffra will be renamed (Wikimedia Commons / iNaturalist)
Last week the International Botanical Congress (IBC) voted to replace words such as caffra or cafra, which appear in over 300 plants, fungi and algae names, with the words afra, afrorum, and afrum to denote their African origins. As part of the motion approved by a vote amongst international scientists, a committee has been created to ensure that new names do not include offensive or derogatory terms.
Words with the root caf[f][e]r-, have been used as a racial slur against black people in several languages. But it is not the only word in nomenclature considered to be offensive. Many other species’ names containing controversial words or the names of contentious historical figures remain in use.
The Linnean Society has long supported open discussion around these issues, and so welcomed the debate and process the IBC have used to address this vote.
We strongly support the IBC’s decision to discuss these important issues openly and to engage the community of botanists in the process. We feel that the IBC has demonstrated leadership by openly welcoming a range of different views that are aired, considered and voted upon fairly. This process enables a more respectful and welcoming environment for all students of the natural world.
We hope that this will open the door for more organisations to engage fully with this discussion, which has many challenges but also impacts the global community of natural scientists and natural historians.
As part of this debate, you can read our collection of papers in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society on the ethics of zoological nomenclature, with scientists expressing a range of views. The collection includes a paper co-authored by Gideon Smith and Estrela Figueiro, who proposed the caffra name change.
Scientists globally will of course hold a range of nuanced views on this subject, and we look forward to more reasoned and respectful discussions in the future.
As Linnean Society Past President Dr Sandy Knapp told the Observer newspaper, “The decision by botanists should make it clear to the scientific community that is involved in naming organisms that they need to open up conversations and to become more aware and respectful of what names should be permitted. […] We need to make more changes to the rulebook. However, you never get anywhere until you start taking steps, and we have done that at last.”
