In some countries, including South Africa, "kaffir" is a racial slur against Black people that's as offensive as the n-word is in the US. The word, with various spellings, appeared in the scientific names of hundreds of African plants, until scientists voted in favor of a simple change before the International Botanical Congress last month.
- By removing the "c" and, when necessary, the second "f" from words like "cafer," "caffra," and "caffrum" in scientific names, they became words like "afra" and "afrum," terms already in use in scientific names that "refer to the material described as having the continent of Africa as geographical origin," according to a proposal from 2021.
- Variations of the word appeared in the names of 218 plants, 13 algae, and 70 fungi, NPR reports.