For the sake of clarity, cultural humility, and social justice I’d like to suggest that folks stop using common names for plants that perpetuate racism and other forms of discrimination. This will help make these forums a safer and more inclusive space. There are several well-written articles on the topic online if you are interested in learning more.
Yes!! I am so glad to see that plants such as “wandering jew” are given a proper name on Planta. Hope to see that these names really take off and replace the discriminatory ones
5 J'aimeThank you. Agree.
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There’s so much history packed into plant names. Not all of it is as pleasant as the plant itself. It’s easy to be unaware of some. My friend thought me about the history of “dumb cane.” The neurotoxic quality of dieffenbachia sap was used to harm enslaved people. The toxin can cause slurred speech or inability to speak, which used to be known as “going dumb.”
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Wow, I didn’t know that history of it. Thanks for sharing. I knew that it was called dumb cane because it could cause the inability to speak, and that itself is also not a great reference these days for people who may actually have speech accessibility differences, since dumb basically = stupid in today’s world.
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What are some other ones? I always thought of Wandering Jew as a nod to the Old Testament desert wandering, but that could be wrong.
2 J'aime There are some great articles online (can’t post URLs) - try looking up Hoyt Arboretum and racism. There are several others too, and many suggest alternative common names , e.g. Wandering Dude
1 j'aime Thanks! Wandering Dude is funny. I like that one.
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I learn something new every day. Thanks for the info. Please, point out if I have uploaded something offensive. I’m truly ignorant on most of these and I’m learning more. The only thing that came to mind when I saw the label ‘dumb came’ was I would be foolish to buy it because it’s going to die at my house anyway! 🥸
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