pryer

“In our particular case, we had an opportunity here to name a genus and we discussed it and didn’t want it to be named after an old white man,” says Pryer.

Pryer also noted how it’s also a way to connect two worlds that are often perceived as quite separate, by letting scientists show off their inner pop culture fan.

In 2012, Pryer’s lab devoted an entire genus of ferns—which includes species such as the Gaga germanotta and Gaga monstraparva—to the Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga.

“Many botanists in the 1700–1800s were men and they named things after other men that they respected in the field, that had contributed somehow to that field, to honor them,” Kathleen Pryer, a professor of biology at Duke University said.

“It’s a way to say we, the people stuck away in labs, we pay attention and we appreciate what they’re doing,” said Pryer.