What’s in a name: Yellow Prairie Grass

Changes abound in the world of taxonomy and naming plants. Current cultural discussions are widening our traditional (European) thinking of plant names and how we arrive at these names. In promoting the use of often overlooked native grasses in increasingly shrinking native habitats, I recently patented a cold hardy, early flowering selection of Sorghastrum nutans, Golden Sunset formerly referred to as Indian grass. Thanks to colleagues and insightful writers, I no longer use the common name Indian grass. I am proposing and using yellow prairie grass as a more appropriate and less offensive common name for this plant.

What’s the big deal? It’s just a common name! It’s a big deal if this name invokes harm and perpetuates and legitimizes bigotry, even if it does so unintentionally. I am not a Native American and cannot speak for how this name is viewed by Native Americans. I have been told the word Indian is offensive to Native Americans. And we know this word has been removed from mascots and icons of sports teams and institutions. To continue to use such terms indicates a lack of understanding, awareness, and can continue to perpetuate bigotry.

There really are no rules for common names, which vary regionally and cause much confusion. In a 2021 article, Kim E. Hummer proposed that one way to change common names that are slurs, insulting, or blatantly offensive would be simply to stop the common usage and adopt one of the existing but not offensive common names. Sorghastrum nutans has few, if any, additional common names. Of course, Native Americans know this grass. According to Linda Black Elk, Sorghastrum nutans, in Lakota is pheží šašá or ínkpa žiží. This can be translated in English to yellow grass or pheží žiží (Lakota Consortium, 2021). Thus I am proposing the name yellow prairie grass for Sorghastrum nutans, a name that I hope is respectful of indigenous peoples and still accurately describes the plant.

As much as I, a lifelong horticulturist, love plants, it is important to note that Native Americans respected them more and thought of plants as “beings with their own stories, beliefs and ways of life. Protocols require us to introduce plants just as we would introduce another human being. Plants have both spiritual and physical healing to offer, it is just necessary to ask for the help they can give,” writes Mary Siisip Geniusz in her 2015 book on Anishinaabe botanical teachings, “Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask.” To understand the respect Native Americans gave to plants broadens our view as horticulturists. Plant names can help our knowledge and show respect for all cultures.

Though challenging to change plant names and have them become widely used, it is important to remove insults from our botanical nomenclature. While changing an offensive common plant name is fairly simple, we must also address changes for offensive Latin names or binomials, as proposed by L.N. Gillman and S.D. Wright in their 2020 paper, “Restoring indigenous names in taxonomy.” Horticultural publications should recognize and stop publishing offensive plant names. Names are important and convey different meanings to different cultures. Let us open our botanical and horticultural work to be more inclusive and benefit from all cultures adding to the wonder, art, and science of horticulture.

Mary Hockenberry Meyer is Professor Emeritus and Grass Collection Curator at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Reach her at meyer023@umn.edu.

Editor’s note: See our article in last month’s issue about several recently-changed plant names: www.nurserymag.com/article/new-day-new-name-taxonomy-changes/