Some Caribbean Plants Have Been Named After James Bond

What comes to mind when you hear the name James Bond? You get the mental image of a super slick spy dressed in an immaculately tailored tux taking out bad guys without breaking a sweat. You might not think of an ornithologist when you hear the name James Bond, and you can be forgiven for that, but it’s actually because of that ornithologist that some Caribbean plants have been named after James Bond.

A subgenus of plants has been named Jamesbondia by scientists. No, the plants don’t have a license to kill, they simply take their name from a man who was called James Bond, and I’m not talking about the man with the license to kill.

This particular James Bond was an ornithologist, someone who studies the branch of science devoted to birds, he wrote a field guide called Birds of the West Indies. Ian Fleming, creator of the super spy, wrote in Jamaica and he named his spy after the bird-watcher.

The real Mr. Bond did much of his work in the same place where the plants in this subgenus are found and that’s why as a tribute to him, scientists have named this subgenus Jamesbondia. The scientists have published their findings on this subgenus in the Plant Biosystems journal.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: james bond