VIDEO : New Plant Named After Matt Damon?s Character in The Martian

In The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney uses his own ingenuity, Martian soil, and poop to grow potatoes to keep himself alive until a rescue mission could be planned. To commemorate the character?s impressive botanical skills, some real life botanists have named a new species of plant after him. The newly discovered flower is officially known as Solanum watney. So why name a new plant after this particular movie and literary character? According to lead author of the paper Chris Martine, botanists aren?t usually the hero of the story. Well, plants can be interesting too, as demonstrated by The Martian.