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Lady Gaga: Fern Species Named After Equality Supporting Star

Posted on Oct 24th 2012 9:00AM by Caitlin White

Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

Lady Gaga already has six Grammys, millions of adoring fans, and a fashion icon status -- but now the singer can add one more accolade that list. Dr. Kathleen Pryer, a biologist at Duke University and, apparently, a "Little Monster" has discovered nineteen new species of ferns and named them after Mother Monster.

The nineteen ferns all fall under one genus which has been dubbed "Lady Gaga." Pryer, who is also the herbarium director for Duke, revealed that the natural characteristics of the ferns themselves helped inspire the naming process.

"We wanted to name this genus for Lady Gaga because of her fervent defense of equality and individual expression. And as we started to consider it, the ferns themselves gave us more reasons why it was a good choice," Pryer said.

She is referring to the fern's reproductive spores, which grow into plants that can end up being male, female, or even bisexual. In addition, the letters GAGA appear in the plant's DNA.

But Pryer said it is Gaga's work to defend individual expression that was the main reason behind the name choice. "Because of her fervent defense of equality and individual expression," Pryer explained. "We think that her second album, 'Born this Way,' is enormously empowering, especially for disenfranchised people and communities like LGBT, ethnic groups, [and] women."

The ferns grow in Central and Southern America, Mexico and in the United States in Arizona and Texas.

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