Jubaeopsis

Jubaeopsis
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Arecales
Family:	Arecaceae
Subfamily:	Arecoideae
Tribe:	Cocoseae
Subtribe:	Attaleinae
Genus:	Jubaeopsis Becc.
Species:	J. afra
Binomial name
Jubaeopsis afra Becc.
Synonyms [2]
Jubaeopsis caffra

Jubaeopsis afra, ^[2] the Pondoland palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family (Arecaceae). It belongs to the monotypic genus Jubaeopsis. ^[3]

It is endemic to South Africa, where it is threatened due to habitat loss. ^[1] This tree is a living fossil, being the last remaining lineage of the palm trees that were widespread in southern Africa in prehistoric times. ^[4]

Taxonomy

Jubaeopsis is named after King Juba II. ^[5]

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. Hilton-Taylor, C. et al. (1998). "Jubaeopsis caffra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1998 e.T30400A9543726. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T30400A9543726.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
2. 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.
3. J. Dransfield; N. W. Uhl (1998). "Palmae". In Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). Flowering plants, Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae). The families and genera of vascular plants. Vol. 4. Springer. p. 379. ISBN   978-3-540-64061-5.
4. A. E. Marvaldi; R. G. Oberprieler; C. H. C. Lyal; T. Bradbury; R. S. Anderson (2006). "Phylogeny of the Oxycoryninae sensu lato (Coleoptera: Belidae) and evolution of host-plant associations". Invertebrate Systematics . 20 (4): 447–476. doi:10.1071/IS05059.
5. Briones, Julià Molero; Pereira, Trinidad Arcos; Carrasco, María Dolores García de Paso; Reyes-Betancort, Jorge Alfredo; Santos‐Guerra, Arnoldo; Jestrow, Brett; Francisco‐Ortega, Javier (30 April 2025). "On the Macaronesian endemic woody spurge Euphorbia regis‐jubae Webb & Berthel. and eponyms honouring the Numidian King Juba II (48 BCE –23/24 CE)" . Curtis's Botanical Magazine. doi:10.1111/CURT.12623.
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.