Forget all that "it's a bird, it's a plane" nonsense. It's a plant and a pop star! More specifically, a fern. Researchers at Duke University have named a whopping 19 species of ferns after Lady Gaga!

The plants were named after the Mother Monster because of her support of the LGBT community. Wait, what? What do ferns have to do with Gaga's support of gay people? Well, the science factors into the equation. The behavior of the plants dictated why they were named after her. It's actually pretty brilliant, and she's probably tickled pink over the association.

"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."

Oh, do tell, Kathleen.

"The biology of these ferns is exceptionally obscure and blurred by sexual crossing between species," Pryer said. "They have high numbers of chromosomes and asexuality that can lead to offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant."

It’s not lost on us that ferns “germinate,” which sounds like Gaga's real last name, Germanotta. Also, the plant organisms can be female, male or even bisexual, depending on growth conditions. They sometimes can also self-fertilize to produce offspring. Those ferns are pretty creative organisms, rejoice-and-love-yourself-today style.

See the correlation? And no, we're not referring to those shadester rumors that Gaga is a hermaphrodite. We're pointing out how she opens her arms to all types of people.

The Duke researchers love Gaga musically, as well. "We often listen to her music while we do our research. We think that her second album, 'Born this Way,' is enormously empowering, especially for disenfranchised people and communities like LGBT, ethnic groups, women -- and scientists who study odd ferns!" Pryer said.

Gaga's music is the great social unifier, whether you are gay or a geek!

Little monsters, you are a part of this whole "ferns being named after Gaga thing." Two of the species in the Gaga genus are new to science. If you are a science nerd, "Gaga germanotta" is from Costa Rica. Also, a newly-discovered Mexican species has been christened "Gaga monstraparva," which translates to "monster-little," which is obviously a nod to you guys.

Watch Lady Gaga's 'The Edge of Glory' Video

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