Caloplaca obamae

That's the Latin name given to a newly discovered form of lichen, a combo of algae and fungus:

You could say Kerry Knudsen took a lichen to our new president.

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 today. “It was real suspense so we were talking about that every day.”

Fungus scientists are easily entertained.

A commenter at Don Surber's blog makes an interesting revelation:

“The Barack Obama Lichen? Lichens, isn’t that what lemmings love — those mindless little rodents that spend their lives aimlessly following a leader?”

As it turns out, it's true. Lemmings love lichen. How appropriate.