Deliberation on culturally insensitive plant names: What are plant scientists doing?

Authors: Hummer, Kim

Submitted to: Chronica Horticulturae
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/22/2021
Publication Date: 9/1/2021
Citation: Hummer, K.E. 2021. Deliberation on culturally insensitive plant names: What are plant scientists doing? Chronica Horticulturae. 61(3):10-11.

Interpretive Summary: Plants have several levels of names: scientific, cultivated, and common. In each of these categories, culturally insensitive terminology has crept in, or even dominated, from historical times to the present. Scientific plant taxonomy involves a complex process that identifies and classifies organisms in a hierarchical structure consisting of kingdom, division (phylum), class, order, family, genus, and species with subcategories in between. The International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN), formerly the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, sets procedural standards for determining binomial, Latin names. Cultivated names are chosen in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). Common names have no regulatory system and are determined regionally. Globally, the use of common names is trending in preference to the Latin, considering the online plant community that is outside of scientific communication protocols. The objectives of this presentation are to increase awareness of insensitive, draconian, or racist nomenclature for common plant names, and to describe what is occurring in the public arena to remediate the situation. At the US Department of Agriculture, National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, a genebank that conserves about 12,000 accessions, plant names and identity of accessions are critical. Several examples of inappropriate tree fruit, nuts, and berry crop names will be described. While the new social responsibility to exclude negative names is prevalent and will be followed, documentation of the oral traditions will be maintained in the accession background as reference as part of the written record at the genebank. The goal is to encourage the public use of names that are culturally considerate and inclusive for previously named plants or in naming new plants. Replacing inappropriate names is likely to be a slow process. It requires education, realization, and acknowledgement of indigenous culture and traditions. It may require a generation or more in time, despite providing direction and guidance for effecting such changes.

Technical Abstract: Plants have several levels of names: scientific, cultivated, and common. In each of these categories, culturally insensitive terminology has crept in, or even dominated, from historical times to the present. Scientific plant taxonomy involves a complex process that identifies and classifies organisms in a hierarchical structure consisting of kingdom, division (phylum), class, order, family, genus, and species with subcategories in between. The International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN), formerly the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, sets procedural standards for determining binomial, Latin names. Cultivated names are chosen in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP). Common names have no regulatory system and are determined regionally. Globally, the use of common names is trending in preference to the Latin, considering the online plant community that is outside of scientific communication protocols. The objectives of this presentation are to increase awareness of insensitive, draconian, or racist nomenclature for common plant names, and to describe what is occurring in the public arena to remediate the situation. At the US Department of Agriculture, National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, a genebank that conserves about 12,000 accessions, plant names and identity of accessions are critical. Several examples of inappropriate tree fruit, nuts, and berry crop names will be described. While the new social responsibility to exclude negative names is prevalent and will be followed, documentation of the oral traditions will be maintained in the accession background as reference as part of the written record at the genebank. The goal is to encourage the public use of names that are culturally considerate and inclusive for previously named plants or in naming new plants. Replacing inappropriate names is likely to be a slow process. It requires education, realization, and acknowledgement of indigenous culture and traditions. It may require a generation or more in time, despite providing direction and guidance for effecting such changes.