- Feb 5, 2002
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Over 200 plants will have their species name changed to remove an offensive South African apartheid-era racial slur after the results of a vote from the International Botanical Congress.
In a thoroughly debated session in the recent meeting in Madrid, the vote passed 351 to 205 to rename all current botanical species with the species name caffra to affra.
Margherita Bassi, writing for Smithsonian, explainsthat this means the coast coral tree Erythrina caffrawill be called Erythrina affra and that the decision marks the first time taxonomists have voted in favor of changing offensive scientific names.
Continued below.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
In a thoroughly debated session in the recent meeting in Madrid, the vote passed 351 to 205 to rename all current botanical species with the species name caffra to affra.
Margherita Bassi, writing for Smithsonian, explainsthat this means the coast coral tree Erythrina caffrawill be called Erythrina affra and that the decision marks the first time taxonomists have voted in favor of changing offensive scientific names.
Continued below.
Botanists Vote to Remove Apartheid Slur from Plant Species Names in Africa
In this case however, "caffra," also spelled Kaffer or Keffir, is a derogatory term used by Afrikaans speakers towards black people
www.goodnewsnetwork.org
