Carlos Magdalena, whose botanical adventures have shades of Indiana Jones, was a driving force in saving the world’s smallest water lily and finding the largest one. He has been called the “plant messiah.”

 The Global Profile

Risking His Own Extinction to Rescue the Rarest of Flowers

Carlos Magdalena, whose botanical adventures have shades of Indiana Jones, was a driving force in saving the world’s smallest water lily and finding the largest one. He has been called the “plant messiah.”

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Carlos Magdalena examining a giant Amazon water lily at the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.Credit...Andrea DiCenzo for The New York Times