The plant messiah : adventures in search of the world's rarest species

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.