Latin Lovers?

UK florists depend on timely imports. These are largely from The Netherlands. The UK has finally started, its post-Brexit, biosecurity checks. These are now needed and intended to reduce the chances of importing plant and animal diseases. Cut flowers are classed as 'medium risk'. This means that 3-5% of these consignments are delayed for checks. Many checks are in a £147m facility in Sevington, Kent. Importers and customs officials appear to be struggling with the new 'Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System' (Ipaff) computer forms. Sometimes, the common plant names are missing from these documents. As a result, it's claimed that "of all the effects of Brexit, probably the least anticipated was that flower exporters and customs officials would have to learn Latin" (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/04/uk-flower-industry-thrown-into-chaos-by-new-brexit-border-checks). This is, of course, complete bunkum. What's actually required for Ipaffs, is knowledge of the plant's scientific name. Such names use the Linnanean binominal (2 name) system. Although many names are often derived from Latin roots, Ancient Greek and other languages can be used (as long as they conform to the 26 letter alphabet). The reason for using scientific names, is that common names often differ from country to country. For example, the UK's 'blackbird' and 'robin' are completely different species from birds with the same common names in the US. The same applies to plants. To illustrate, a daffodil in Dutch is a 'gele narcis' and a rose a 'roos'. Importers and customs officials are having to learn science not Latin. You can't control the import of anything, if you are uncertain what it is!