Despite being some of the most iconic and widespread tree species in Africa, it has recently become ‘technically’ incorrect to describe any Acacia species whatsoever as native to Africa – a point that many people, scientists and laymen alike, find deeply dissatisfying and distressing. In this popular piece, I will address why it is technically incorrect to do this, outlining the primary reason for the reclassification of the legume genus Acacia in 2011 and describing how Africa ultimately lost its grip on this iconic Latin genus name to Australia. I will also provide some evidence from my own research to highlight the importance of moving past the petty ‘stick-it-to-the-man’ attitude of many scientists and laymen who aggressively refuse the name changes to Acacia following its reclassification. In doing so, I believe that many people have blinded themselves to the fact that we, in Africa, have been referring to two distantly related, and probably quite different, plant lineages by the same name for over 200 years – a terrible misunderstanding of some of the most important tree species on the continent.