Botânica no Instagram: confiabilidade de informações em perfis de plantas suculentas

Abstract

Succulent plants are those that have water reserves, modifications so that they can adapt to environments, in which water is a limiting factor, cacti are an example. Social networks are important tools for disseminating information, during the Sars-Covid-19 pandemic the trade in plants increased, succulent plants, especially cacti, were in evidence. Instagram presents itself as an important tool for publicizing and interacting with people about plants, however the use of scientific names on social media raises questions about the use of standardization referred to in the International Code of Nomenclature for Plants, Fungi and Algae. Aiming to analyze whether the information available in the feeds of Instagram profiles that dealt with succulent plants used the correct plant nomenclature and botanical identification presented in these profiles. A search was carried out using the terms cacti, succulents and Cactaceae, the profiles were selected using criteria such as number of followers, publicity focused on succulent plants and the profile having been created before March 2020. 148 profiles were found, of which 10 were selected and analyzed. Thus, 304 publications were correct and 2,987 publications had errors in publishing the copies. Instagram is an important social network for disseminating content, but as a source of scientific research, it still presents a great instability of knowledge when it comes to botanical nomenclature.