Botanists vote to remove racist reference from plants’ scientific names

Plants With Racist Names to Be Renamed

Botanists at the congress voted to abolish over 200 species names of plants, fungi, and algae deemed racist. They must be renamed by 2026.

Historic Vote Means You’ll Have To Say Goodbye To ‘Racist’ Plants

Hundreds of plants are officially getting a name change because they're racist, scientists voted in July.

Plant names linked to slavery survive as ‘racist’ Latin terms culled

Botanists vote to rename more than 200 plants, fungi and algae species whose names included offensive terms in unprecedented move

Botanists decided to give a new name to a couple hundred species of plants, fungi and algae at a congress in Madrid, because their name contains the word caffra, which is offensive to blacks living predominantly in the south of Africa.

A decision made at an international conference changes over 200 scientific names. In the future, names that have been considered offensive can be completely abandoned.