The names of hundreds of plants considered racist will be changed.
A close vote of 351 to 205. Botanists from around the world, gathered ahead of the 20th International Botanical Congress in Madrid from July 21 to 27, voted to rename plants that reportedly sound racist. timesHundreds of plants, fungi and algae will change their names starting in 2026.
Questionable are the species names that contain the word “kafir,” a derogatory term for black people, especially during apartheid South Africa. He points out that it is linked to a racist fantasy and the justification of white supremacy. Journal of South African Studies.
George Hibbert, pro-slavery lobbyist
Erythrina Kafra Therefore it should be renamed. Erythrina afra, Protea infidel in Protea afraAnd Dove's disease in Dove's aphraaccording to proposals by Gideon Smith and Estrella Figueiredo of Nelson Mandela University (South Africa). The idea is to prefix derivatives with “afr” to recognize their African origin.
“We are pleased to remove the racist slur from the scientific names of plants, algae and fungi. We are pleased to see that more than 60% of the global botanical community has spoken in favor of our proposal,” Gideon Smith responded in the Times columns.
Other names targeted are those of people who supported slavery or opposed the abolition of slavery.Hypertia It comes, for example, from George Hibbert, a member of the pro-slavery lobby in Great Britain.
Committee to verify the validity of new names
The changes will be accompanied by the creation of a special committee responsible for the new names of plants, fungi and algae that are identified from 1 January 2026. This is a “small step towards recognising the problem,” says Kevin Theil, a plant taxonomist at the Australian National University in Canberra, who is the originator of the latest proposal.
Other biologists are concerned about the impact of these changes on nomenclature. “This could cause a lot of confusion and problems in many fields other than botany,” said Alina Freire Fierro, a botanist at the Technical University of Cotopaxi in Ecuador.
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