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For the first time, researchers determined Eliminate scientific names of organisms because they are considered offensive. The vote took place on Thursday, July 18, during the International Botanical Congress in Madrid, Spain.
A team of botanists identified more than 200 species of plants, fungi and algae They should not include the word “caffra,” a racist term for black people. Mainly in South Africa. In Arabic, the word means “infidel” and was originally used to refer to non-Muslims and later to African slaves.
The proposal was made by Gideon Smith and Estrela Figueiredo, plant taxonomists at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The measure passed with 351 votes in favor and 205 against.
“We have confidence in the process and the strong support from our colleagues around the world. Even though the vote was close,Gideon Smith told the magazine nature.
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Smith and Figueiredo recommend that all species with names based on “caffra” should replace the term with a derivative of “afr” to identify Africa. For example, the coastal coral tree will no longer be called Erythrina caffra and will be renamed Erythrina affra.
The decision brings complications: While the elimination of racist terminology is generally seen as a positive, Aline Freire-Fierro, a botanist at Ecuador’s Technical University of Cotopaxi, said: He worries the decision could open the door to other similar changes. “This could cause a lot of confusion and problems for professionals in a variety of fields beyond botany.”
To address this issue, scientists at the Nomenclature section of the Botanical Congress formed an ethics committee for the names of newly discovered plants, fungi and algae. The name of a species is usually determined by the researcher who discovered and described it in the scientific literature. It can now be rejected by the committee if it is deemed offensive to a group of people. The rule will apply to species described for the first time starting in 2026.
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*The creation of this content was assisted by artificial intelligence. The information was provided and reviewed by journalists for accuracy. The content was not automatically generated.
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