The Plant Messiah: Adventures in Search of the World’s Rarest Species

by Carlos Magdalena

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Book cover for The Plant Messiah

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Carlos Magdalena of Kew Gardens is not your average botanical horticulturist. He's a man on a mission to save the world's most endangered plants from destruction and thieves hunting for wealthy collectors. He is a plant messiah.

From the planet's tiniest waterlily - the Nymphaea thermarum - to Huarango trees with roots over 50 metres long, Carlos has a miraculous ability to bring breathtakingly beautiful plants back from the brink of extinction. He has travelled to the most remote and dangerous parts of the world - from the mountains of Peru to isolated Indian Ocean islands to the deepest Australian outback - in search of the rarest exotic species. Then, back in the Tropical Nursery at Kew, he uses pioneering, left-field techniques to help them grow.

Now he's here to spread the gospel. The Plant Messiah is the inspirational story of a man who has devoted - and risked - his life to save incredible species, all in the name of making this Earth a greener and happier place. Amen to that.

  • ISBN10 0241292328
  • ISBN13 9780241292327
  • Publish Date 1 June 2017
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 7 April 2021
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
  • Imprint Viking
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 240
  • Language English