Plants with racist names will soon be renamed.

A historic decision for plants. On the occasion of 20th International Botanical Congress In Madrid, from July 21 to 27, several hundred botanists voted to rename more than 200 plants, fungi and algae with racist names.

The vegan community welcomed the change with 63% of those present (351 votes in favor and 205 against out of 556 voters), narrowly exceeding the 60% threshold needed to validate the vote. The first changes must be made before 2026, and a committee will be established on January 1 of that year to ensure the smooth running of the process.

“Kafri”: Very flowery language

In particular, the names of species that bear the word “caffra,” the term used during apartheid in South Africa to refer to black people, have come under question. Gideon Smith and Estrella Figueiredo of Nelson Mandela University suggest that “caffra” should be replaced with the root “afr” in order to remember their African origin without detracting from its value. The tree with coral-red flowers Erythrina Kafra Therefore it should take the nameErythrina afra, The shrub with the wonderful flowers Protea infidel that Protea afra The fruit tree produces orange and yellow kaffir apples Dovyalis Caffra. Dove's aphra.

In the 20th century, the term “cafe” simply referred to a black African from Cafrere, a former English county in South Africa. Gradually, the term became a racial slur that referred to the separation of whites and blacks in the country. Overall, it was a stylized and discriminatory language. “We are pleased to remove racial slurs from the scientific names of plants, algae and fungi. We are pleased to see that over 60% of the global botanical community spoke in favor of our proposal.The pioneer Gideon Smith rejoiced in times.

Other names are available to botanists, particularly those associated with historical figures who were slave owners or who took a stand against the abolition of slavery. An Australian shrub with small yellow flowers Hypertianamed after British slave and plantation owner George Hubert (1757-1837), and thus should be renamed.

potential confusion

However, many botanists have expressed concern about these changes in nomenclature. According to them, this could be “It is likely to cause a lot of confusion and problems in many fields other than botany.”As Alina Freire Fierro, a botanist at the Technical University of Cotopaxi in Ecuador, put it, “With the commission coming into being on January 1, 2026, it will be possible to observe whether the community of botanists is working in a coordinated manner, and whether the changes made… are taking root.”