Botanists busy weeding out offensive names for plants
Across Australia, the guinea flower shrub is a common sight. But the innocuous yellow plants of the Hibbertia genus have a controversial namesake – George Hibbert, a leading member of Regency-era Britain’s pro-slavery lobby.
Hibbertia and other plants whose names derive from problematic figures or phrases have, in the past few years, prompted debate over appropriate names for the modern age.
This week, 556 botanists voted to rename more than 200 plants and fungi and algae species whose names include racially offensive terms.
More than 60% of those at the initial nomenclature session of the 20th International Botanical Congress in Madrid voted in a secret ballot to change plant names containing the word “caffra”. The word, which originates in slurs used against black people particularly in southern Africa, will be replaced with “affra” by 2026.
The event marked the first time taxonomists had officially considered rule changes to deal with potentially offensive species names.
Gideon Smith, a plant taxonomist at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, who proposed the removal of “caffra” alongside his colleague Estrela Figueiredo, said: “Both Estrela and I are pleased with the eradication of a racist slur from the scientific names of plants, algae and fungi. We applaud the greater than 60% majority that the global botanical community expressed in support of our proposal.”
The commission also voted to give a special committee power to rule on the ethical naming of plants. The motion was brought by Kevin Thiele, a plant taxonomist at the Australian National University in Canberra, one of those who raised concerns about Hibbertia.
However, the original motion was watered down so the committee will only be able to consider new plant names published after January 1, 2026, rather than historical ones.
Thiele said the vote was the best he could have hoped for at this stage, and was “at least a sliver of recognition of the issue”.
Quentin Groom, of the Meise Botanic Garden in Belgium, told Science magazine: “Even small changes could have ripples, unforeseen circumstances that cause costs and difficulty for everyone ... so there are conflicting pressures.”