A panel of botanists have voted to change the scientific names of hundreds of plants because they could be interpreted as racist. Though roads, schools and buildings have been renamed on account of perceived potential “racism,” this is the first time any species have been renamed because of fears it could insinuate a racist slur, botanists decided at the International Botanical Congress Nomenclature Section in Madrid. During the six-day conference, more than 100 researchers voted in favour of launching a special committee solely to deal with the renaming of plants and elimination of derogatory slurs in the plant world. As of 2026, more than 200 names of plant, fungi and algae species will be changed to accommodate these racist fears, researchers decided, per Nature. The coastal coral tree erythrina caffra will instead be known as erythrina affra, for example, because “caffra” could be offensive to black people, given that in South Africa sometimes the word kaffir or cafri is used as a racist slur. This specific change will be effective immediately, the Guardian reported. Species with the word “caffra” will therefore be swapped with the Africa-friendly prefix “afr.”Plant taxonomist at South Africa’s Nelson Mandela University Gideon Smith, who proposed the renaming, said botanists “throughout (the vote) had faith in the process.” “(We had) the majority global support of our colleagues, even though the outcome of the vote was always going to be close,” said Smith. The final vote counted 351 for changing plant names, and 205 against. Ecuadorian botanist at the Technical University of Cotopaxi Alina Freire-Fierro says she is glad the law passed because she thinks “caffra” is indeed racist. However, she acknowledged the decision could open the door to confusion down the road. “This could potentially cause a lot of confusion and problems to users in many fields aside from botany,” she added. Other changes include plants christened with “problematic names,” like those who were involved in the transatlantic slave trade, Nature reported. Kevin Thiele, a plant taxonomist at the Australia National University, who also was one of the botanists to propose the change, said he was relieved “at least it’s a sliver of recognition of the issue,” per the Guardian. He said the renaming was the best outcome he could have hoped for.Despite the enthusiasm from the above botanists, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is not as keen. ICZN has refused to consider revising its rules to accommodate the anti-racist name-change. Not only would it be “disruptive,” but the new names could one day be seen as offensive too, “as attitudes change in the future,” wrote the commission in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
A panel of botanists have voted to change the scientific names of hundreds of plants because they could be interpreted as racist. Though roads, schools and buildings have been renamed on account of perceived potential “racism,” this is the first time any species have been renamed because of fears it could insinuate a racist slur, botanists decided at the International Botanical Congress Nomenclature Section in Madrid. During the six-day conference, more than 100 researchers voted in favour of launching a special committee solely to deal with the renaming of plants and elimination of derogatory slurs in the plant world. As of 2026, more than 200 names of plant, fungi and algae species will be changed to accommodate these racist fears, researchers decided, per Nature. The coastal coral tree erythrina caffra will instead be known as erythrina affra, for example, because “caffra” could be offensive to black people, given that in South Africa sometimes the word kaffir or cafri is used as a racist slur. This specific change will be effective immediately, the Guardian reported. Species with the word “caffra” will therefore be swapped with the Africa-friendly prefix “afr.”Plant taxonomist at South Africa’s Nelson Mandela University Gideon Smith, who proposed the renaming, said botanists “throughout (the vote) had faith in the process.” “(We had) the majority global support of our colleagues, even though the outcome of the vote was always going to be close,” said Smith. The final vote counted 351 for changing plant names, and 205 against. Ecuadorian botanist at the Technical University of Cotopaxi Alina Freire-Fierro says she is glad the law passed because she thinks “caffra” is indeed racist. However, she acknowledged the decision could open the door to confusion down the road. “This could potentially cause a lot of confusion and problems to users in many fields aside from botany,” she added. Other changes include plants christened with “problematic names,” like those who were involved in the transatlantic slave trade, Nature reported. Kevin Thiele, a plant taxonomist at the Australia National University, who also was one of the botanists to propose the change, said he was relieved “at least it’s a sliver of recognition of the issue,” per the Guardian. He said the renaming was the best outcome he could have hoped for.Despite the enthusiasm from the above botanists, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is not as keen. ICZN has refused to consider revising its rules to accommodate the anti-racist name-change. Not only would it be “disruptive,” but the new names could one day be seen as offensive too, “as attitudes change in the future,” wrote the commission in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
