Erica afra

Erica afra
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Erica
Species:	E. afra
Binomial name
Erica afra L., 1753
Varieties [2]
Erica afra var. afra Erica afra var. auricularis(Salisb.) Bolus
Synonyms [ citation needed ]
Erica caffra

Erica afra, ^[3] the water heath, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Erica. It's a small tree, sometimes a shrub, that grows in riparian habitats and on forest edges and occurs from the Western Cape to the Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. ^{[2] [4]} The tree's flowers look like bells. The tree's national tree number is 572. ^[5]

Taxonomy

The etymology of the original species name caffra is related to kaffir, an ethnic slur used towards black people in Africa. At the July 2024 International Botanical Congress, a vote was held with the result that "caffra" related names will be emended to afra related ones, with the implementation of this being done at the end of July 2024. ^[6]

References

1. Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) & IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group. 2019. Erica caffra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T143722238A143722240. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T143722238A143722240.en. Accessed on 3 January 2022.
2. "Erica afra L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
3. Callaway, Ewen (2024). "Hundreds of racist plant names will change after historic vote by botanists" . Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-02365-x. PMID   39026072. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
4. "Erica caffra | PlantZAfrica". pza.sanbi.org. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
5. "National List Of Indigenous Trees". Treetags. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
6. McKie, Robin (20 July 2024). "Botanists vote to remove racist reference from plants' scientific names". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 21 July 2024.