A longtime botanist at Eastern Illinois University now shares his name with a new plant species found in India. The university says some of Gordon Tucker's colleagues discovered the new member of the sedge family and decided to name it after him because he provided the expertise to confirm the discovery.
The new sedge is called Fimbristylistuckeri. Sedges are flowering plants that resemble grasses.
Tucker says the discovery itself was not unusual, but says he is flattered by the new name. More than 1,000 new plant species were identified last year and there are about 5,500 known types of sedges.
News of the new species was announced in the September issue of the Kew Bulletin .
