Lady Gaga Ferns – Things Named After Famous People

Thing Named After Lady Gaga: Gaga germanotta, Gaga monstraparva, etc. -- 19 species of ferns named after Mother Monster

Scientists at Duke University love Lady Gaga so much, they decided to name 19 species of newly-discovered ferns after Ms. Germanotta. In 2012, Gaga was honored with the distinction of having a piece of nature bear her famous moniker, with particular types of these ferns holding names like Gaga germanotta and Gaga monstraparva.

So, why did they pick Gaga out of all the celebs in the world?

“We wanted to name this genus for Lady Gaga because of her fervent defense of equality and individual expression,” stated Kathleen Pryer, a Duke University biology professor. “And as we started to consider it, the ferns themselves gave us more reasons why it was a good choice. The biology of these ferns is exceptionally obscure and blurred by sexual crossing between species. They have high numbers of chromosomes and asexuality that can lead to offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.”