The new natives

Finding the right words for non-native plants is tricky: even native’ requires a fresh perspective, says Toby

- TOBY

WHEN non-binary balladeer Sam Smith was asked to name an alternative dream career, the multimillionaire replied: “I’d love to be a ‘fisher-them!”

Well, I was outraged. Not by Sam’s avoidance of the ‘microaggression’ inherent in ‘hetero-normative’ language, but the aggression towards fish! How could them? But I mustn’t take offence… It’s so difficult to say anything these days without upsetting someone, as the English language has become a minefield (apologies to pacifists).

I mention this because, as part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Language Project, American scientists (who else?) have compiled a repository of ‘problematic words’ that shouldn’t be used in plant and associated science. They don’t, for example, like ‘male’ or ‘female’, even though alternative words such as ‘XY or XX individuals’ are synonyms for the same and confirm that to Mother Nature, sex is binary.