– It is huge. I think it’s very pretty. It’s almost like a title of honor. I kind of feel like I’ve reached a career peak now. That’s what Magni Olsen Kyrkjeeide says. She has always been interested in nature, and when she started studying biology at NTNU she had a special thought. – I thought I could study the strangest of all plants, and then it turned out to be mosses. Then she made a special discovery – which led to a moss in the USA being named after her. “Sphagnum magniae” It happened while she was doing a doctorate and was on a research stay in North Carolina. Then Kyrkjeeide discovered that one of the most common species of moss we have might not be one species after all, but consisted of several species. Now one of the varieties has been named “Sphagnum magniae”. – Some of the preliminary work was done by me, so the American researchers probably think it was appropriate to name it after me because of that. Kyrkjeeide grew up in Lismarka in Nordre Ringsaker. Forest and marsh were her closest neighbors when she was little. Therefore, it is natural that she ended up working with peat mosses and their evolutionary history and speciation. But she hadn’t expected to have a moss named after her. Not so common For Kyrkjeeide is approaching 40, and according to her, you usually don’t get named until you’re quite a bit older. And it is not necessarily the case that plants are named after people. – There are often many descriptive names that are used, and it is not often that they are named after people, she says. MAGNI: This moss is called “Sphagnum magniae”, named after Magni Olsen Kyrkjeeide. Photo: Blanka Aguero When a new species is discovered, it usually belongs to a known genus. Kristian Hassel, professor of botany at NTNU, says that it is the researchers who give it a species name when they make the official description. – You have to describe a new species in a scientific publication, what it looks like and what distinguishes it from other species. SPECIES NAME: Kristian Hassel, professor of botany at NTNU, is one of the researchers behind the official description. He says that Kyrkjeeide found the new species at a laboratory in North Carolina. – One of them has been named in her honour. Photo: Pressefoto / NTNU It is neither very common to find new species – nor to have them named after you. And if it is not sensational with a female explorer, the professor calls it a “breath of fresh air”. – It is a great honor to have a moss named after him, he says. Honor and honor The Norwegian Institute for Natural Research (NINA) writes in a press release that “usually it is men who have long since grown moss who get something named after them”. – What we name plants and streets after says something about those who receive the great honor, but it also says something about our society, says professor of history, Eirinn Larsen, at the University of Oslo. Larsen does not believe that there is a straight line between equality and the fact that a woman has now got “her own” species of moss. It can be as simple as the fact that there have traditionally been more men in the field. At the same time, it is precisely within the natural sciences that the first women scientists made a name for themselves. Among the pioneers is Thekla Resvoll, Norwegian botanist and champion of the women’s cause. She was born in Vågå in 1871. Resvoll cut her hair short and went to field work in trousers. In 1917 she took her doctorate in botany. DISTINGUISHMENT: Having something named after you can almost be compared to getting a merit medal, says professor of history, Eirinn Larsen at the University of Oslo. – It’s about highlighting those who have contributed something. Photo: Press photo / UiO The professor also does not want to draw a clear parallel to the fact that there are more male than female street names, but she believes that in general there is a change in society. – It’s about who it is we are commemorating and I think awareness is starting to come, but it has taken a very long time. Want to discover more Kyrkjeeide says that she is very pleased to have had a moss named after her. But that doesn’t mean she’s finished looking for new species. Right now, she and her colleagues are taking a closer look at several common species. In other words, species where it has been assumed that there is only one species, but where several may be hiding. – There is more to discover. I hope I can participate in more new discoveries. DON’T GIVE UP Norway is the country with the most peat bogs in Europe. 55 of the 58 species found in the continent live in this country. – Looking for species is the most fun I do in the field, says Magni Olsen Kyrkjeeide to NTB. Photo: Private
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The moss species Sphagnum magniae is named after Magni Olsen Kyrkjeeide from Ringsaker – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
