Lady Gaga: this fern is for you

Could her highness Lady Gaga be tickled by something as earthly as having a fern named after her? Scientists in Costa Rica hope so. A new species of the plant was identified recently on a slope -- one, oddly, called the Hill of Death -- south of the capital San Jose. And researchers who found it, from Duke University in the United States, decided to name it Gaga Germanotta, the newspaper La Nacion reported Thursday. The second part's a tribute to the pop singer's real name, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Lady Gaga is to perform in Costa Rica November 3 -- her first concert in Central America -- and the plant-naming is supposed to be a way to welcome her. Kathleen Pryer, part of the fern research team, said the singer is being honored for her commitment to "equality, respect for diversity and personal freedom." "We do not know her, but we want to connect botany with the world of a singer like Lady Gaga," Pryer was quoted as saying.