On Monday , March 10 , 2025 , Carlos Magdalena , Scientific & Botanical Research Horticulturist at Kew Gardens , was awarded the Officer ’s Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic for his consecrated work in the flying field of gardening .

The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic is one of the three foremost orders of meritoriousness bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain . It recognizes extraordinary service to the homeland or the promotion of outside relation back and cooperation with other res publica . By law , its Grand Master is the King of Spain , and its Grand Chancellor is the Minister of Foreign Affairs . The Order is open to both Spaniards and foreigners , particularly from the Spanish - speaking domain .

The laurels was present by Excelentísimo Señor José Pascual Marco , Ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom , who applauded the employment of Kew and speak about the comprehensiveness of Carlos ' work , his expedition , breakthroughs , and his passion as a communicator .

Throughout his career , Carlos Magdalena has helped save several species from the brink of extinction . In 2008 , the rare pygmy Rwandan waterlily ( the minor waterlily in the world ) was thought to be extinct in the wilderness . Kew horticulturists , including Carlos , set out on a mission to find ways to disperse the plant , experimenting with different mediums , temperature , pH levels , and water depths to fix the idealistic climate for the mini waterlilies . After a find , plants began to flourish and matured . Having these waterlilies in botanic gardens is a safeguard against their future extinction . Carlos also played an integral role in saving the Café marron ( Ramosmania rodriguesi ) , which was thought to be extinct until a individual surviving tree was spotted by a schoolboy in 1979 . Cuttings were take in to Kew Gardens , and although the plant regularly flowered , it never produce seed until Carlos come across how to make the male plant take over female flowers . In 2003 , the Café marron bore its first fruit with viable seeds . dull but regular endeavor have been made to grow more Café marron tree diagram and speed up the pollination operation . In 2010 , there were 300 successfully germinate source in Rodrigues , circularize hope that the coinage can eventually exist in the wild once again .

In 2022 , a team headed by Carlos Magdalena , freelance Kew botanical creative person Lucy Smith , and biodiversity genomics investigator Natalia Przelomska , alongside partners from the National Herbarium of Bolivia , Santa Cruz de La Sierra Botanic Garden , and La Rinconada Gardens , confirm a new botanical discovery in the genus Victoria . Only two known specie of giant waterlily had antecedently been identified , and specimens of the Modern specie , Victoria boliviana , had been sitting in Kew ’s Herbarium for 177 yr and in the National Herbarium of Bolivia for 34 class .

Carlos Magdalena said : " It ’s hard to put into words how it feel to obtain this award , something I could n’t even envisage when I left Spain 24 years ago and I come as an Asturian immigrant to act in a hotel and learn English . I ’m delighted that in the process they recognized a horticulturist at Kew , highlight the encroachment and grandness of the workplace we do , so I want to share this identification with all my cobalt - worker . If I could cut this medal up into a thousand pieces and share it with everyone who helps me and the squad every day , I would .

" If you are lucky enough to be concerned in the natural humans , you would need 100 life-time to get bored of it . I still have sex this job as much today as I did when I first started . "

Speaking after the presentation at the event receipt , Richard Barley , Director of Gardens at RBG Kew , said : " Carlos has been a very of import part of the story of our success in horticultural endeavour over the past 20 years , so it was particularly moving to be a part of this particular function when he was recognized by his own land and people for his donation too . "

UK - based Spanish entrepreneur Julio Bruno , who , like Carlos , is a native of Gijón in Asturias , was also presented with the Officer ’s Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic at the ceremony . The third recipient of the night was Professor Guillermo Rein , Professor of Fire Science at Imperial College , London , known for his work on how wildfire bedcover and how rural communities can be protect .

Source : KEW.org

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