Lichen Obama more and more

By GottaLaff

Just when you thought you've heard it all:

Knudsen, a curator of the plant-like combination of fungi and algae at the UC Riverside Herbarium, named a new species of tough, orange-colored lichen, Caloplaca obamae, after Barack Obama.

"I supported him running for president, and while we were doing the collecting the election was in its last couple of weeks," Knudsen, 58, said Thursday. "It was real suspense, so we were talking about that every day." [...]

Knudsen, who has studied lichens for about 10 years and roamed the California coast looking for them, said the naming decision wasn't about publicity.

"After the Bush administration, I appreciated the change to an administration supporting science and science education," Knudsen said.