In a significant move to combat racism on a global scale, the International Botanical Congress has taken a stand by deciding to rename over 200 photosynthetic species, which include plants, algae, and fungi.
These "offensive organisms" could apparently be interpreted as racist.
Over the six-day conference, over 100 researchers gathered in Madrid. They voted to create a special committee dedicated to renaming plants and getting rid of offensive slurs in the plant world.
One of the "racist" names getting renamed is the coastal coral tree, previously known as erythrina caffra. From now on, the tree will be referred to as erythrina "affra" because, according to these botanists, "caffra" is derived from 'kaffir,' which is a racist slur against black people.
According to The Guardian, any species with "caffra" in their name will now use the Africa-friendly prefix "afr." This change will take effect immediately.
This is a really crucial, urgent change, people! Plant racism is no joke.
The modern-day hero who proposed the renaming, Gideon Smith, plant taxonomist at South Africa's Nelson Mandela University, was confident the vote would pass and said botanists "had faith in the process."
Ultimately, it was 351 votes for changing plant names to 205 against.
We are very pleased with the retroactive and permanent eradication of a racial slur from botanical nomenclature. It is most encouraging that more than 60% of our international colleagues supported this proposal.
Sandy Knapp, a botanist from the Natural History Museum in London who led the naming session, mentioned that these "offensive" name changes are just beginning.
This is an absolutely monumental first step in addressing an issue that has become a real problem in botany and also in other biological sciences.
It is a very important start.
According to The Guardian, Kevin Thiele, a plant taxonomist at Australia National University who proposed the change, said he was relieved it was a small step toward addressing the issue.
At least it's a sliver of recognition of the issue.
I mean, if you think about it (but not too hard), you'll realize plants are all around us. So, if so many of these plants are racist names, then we are basically surrounded by racists.
Quick, someone call the Norwegian Nobel Committee! These folks are really on to something here!
Alina Freire-Fierro, a botanist from the Technical University of Cotopaxi in Ecuador, is also happy the law passed because she agrees that "caffra" is most definitely racist. However, she also pointed out that this decision might lead to some confusion in the future.
This could potentially cause a lot of confusion and problems to users in many fields aside from botany.
Although botanists have shown great support and excitement, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) isn't totally on board.
They've refused to revise their rules for the anti-racist name changes, calling it "disruptive" and warning that new names could also become offensive "as attitudes change in the future.
Next time you're in your garden, just remember to stop and think: am I the racist, or is it just my plants?
Because these days, someone or something HAS to be racist. Nope, we can't all just simply get along - we always have to find something offensive.
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