NEWS
16 July 2024

Many plant names are offensive: botanists will vote on whether to change them

Researchers at an international meeting will also consider how to monitor names that have problematic roots.

By Ewen Callaway

This week, the group that sets the rules for naming plant species will vote on whether to rename dozens of organisms whose scientific designations contain a racial slur, as well as to reconsider other offensive names, such as those that recognize colonialists or people who advocated for slavery.

The votes at the International Botanical Congress in Madrid mark the first time that taxonomists have officially considered rule changes to deal with species names that many people find offensive.

Advocates of the proposals argue that, as wider society addresses the veneration of people responsible for historical injustices, so should science. But some in the world of taxonomy worry that changing names en masse could sow confusion in the scientific literature, as well as create a ‘slippery slope’ that could threaten any species name recognizing a person.

“It’s very unfortunate that many of these names are offensive,” says Alina Freire-Fierro, a botanist at the Technical University of Cotopaxi in Latacunga, Ecuador. “To change the names that have already been published would cause so much confusion.”

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