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The Plant Messiah

Adventures in Search of the World’s Rarest Species

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The Plant Messiah

By: Carlos Magdalena
Narrated by: Roy McMillan
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About this listen

Penguin Audio presents The Plant Messiah by Carlos Magdalena, read by Roy McMillan.

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 ecological 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 propagate and prosper.

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.

©2017 Carlos Magdalena (P)2018 Penguin Audio Agricultural & Food Sciences Biological Sciences Botany & Plants Ecology Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Conservation Gardening Ecosystem

Critic reviews

An engaging piece of work (Charles Elliott)
Botany, on its face, doesn't sound particularly thrilling. This book will change your mind (Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author of 'Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet' and 'Radio Free Vermont')
An entertaining, planterly romp around the world and a glimpse inside one of the world's great botanical institutions from this Kew botanist (Jane Owen)
All stars
Most relevant
what a great listen! absolutu fantastic listen! love this audio book soooo much. will listen again!

Fantastic

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Enjoyed the stories of travel around the world "re-discovering" plants. Need to have more please.

When is part II ?

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A must listen if you're into botany and ecology as well as adventure stories. Immersive storytelling, narrated by author with species names and morphological descriptions, dictionary in last chapter.

Plant diversity and conservation stories

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Well written and narrated, covering a fascinating range of species and experiences. A fun listen for a plant nerd, and I think very beginner or casual listener friendly, too.

Well written and very interesting.

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I really like this book, I really want to visit kew garden and see the plants for myself. 100% Recommend

Great Book! Makes me want to own a physical copy!

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