As IBC 2024 starts in Madrid on July 21, botanists show pejorative K-word in floral nomenclature the door

As IBC 2024 starts in Madrid on July 21, botanists show pejorative K-word in floral nomenclature the door

Sub: Sci

Sec: Msc

Context:

• 20th International Botanical Congress (IBC) held in Madrid, Spain.

Controversial Term:

• Botanists voted to remove an offensive term from over 200 plant species names.
• The new names will reflect the plants’ African origins.
• The term “Caffra,” derived from “Kafir” in the Quran, became racially offensive under South African apartheid.
• Botanists proposed removing the letter “c” from plant names to form “afra,” “afrorum,” or “afrum.”
• Over 200 species’ names will change by 2026, such as the coast coral tree from Erythrina caffra to Erythrina affra.

Historical Context

• The term was used pejoratively by European explorers and colonists for black people in southern Africa.
• Afrikaners, descendants of European settlers, used the term to abuse black South Africans, including Nelson Mandela.
• The term became particularly offensive in the mid-20th century under apartheid policies.