The world is now a better place thanks to a panel of botanists who’ve decided that hundreds of photosynthetic species, such as plants, algae, and fungi, must be renamed to combat racism.

Apparently, this plant is racist!

More to come on how the Erythrina Caffra, and many other plants are being renamed to fight racism 🤦🏾‍♀️ at https://t.co/Gi9Wj4LxWc pic.twitter.com/ikwCCWnOkw

— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) July 23, 2024

At least that’s what the plant scientists who successfully voted in favour of renaming the 'offensive organisms' last week during the International Botanical Congress believe.

After a six-day session, the scientists decided that all such species whose name contains the word 'Caffra' will have the word be replaced with word 'affra.' They claim that 'Caffra' is a derivative of 'kaffir,' a racist slur against black people.

The researchers also decided that a special committee will be formed to decide on names for newly discovered plants, algae, and fungi.

The decision will impact how taxonomists and scientific literature will refer to over 200 species, including the Erythrina caffra, an African coral tree, whose name change to 'Erythrina affra' is expected to come into effect as soon as the end of July.

"We are very pleased with the retroactive and permanent eradication of a racial slur from botanical nomenclature," South African plant taxonomist and University of Nelson Mandela Professor Gideon Smith told The Observer. "It is most encouraging that more than 60% of our international colleagues supported this proposal."

According to The Guardian, it was Smith and his colleague Prof. Estrela Figueiredo who first proposed the eradication of 'Caffra' from the species' names. The duo has also been campaigning for changes to how scientific names of plants and animals are determined and for more names to be replaced.

Natural History Museum in London botanist Sandy Knapp, who presided over the nomenclature session, indicated the 'offensive' name changes are just getting started.

“This is an absolutely monumental first step in addressing an issue that has become a real problem in botany and also in other biological sciences," she said, adding that "It is a very important start.”

However, not everyone within the scientific community is as enthusiastic about rewriting species' names.

Last year, The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) put out a statement making it clear that they won't be changing the names of any animals, regardless of whether their common or Latin name offends others, as future names could also later be deemed offensive.