Benjamín Máximo Laguna y Villanueva (December 2, 1822 - January 3, 1902) was a Spanish botanist and entomologist. While the standard form of his name is "Laguna", he is sometimes referred to by both surnames "Laguna y Villanueva".

Education

Máximo Laguna was born in

Santa Cruz de Mudela Santa Cruz de Mudela is a municipality of the Spanish Province of Ciudad Real located in the southeastern corner of the autonomous community Castilla–La Mancha. Geography Santa Cruz de Mudela has a Mediterranean–Continental climate that cons ...

, in the province of Ciudad Real. In 1848 he enrolled at the Spanish forestry school, the '' Escuela Especial de Ingenieros de Montes'', which had been recently founded at the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón near Madrid. He received a grant to continue his studies in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...

, where he enrolled at the

Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry The Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry (German: ''Königliche-Sächsische Forstakademie'') in Tharandt, Saxony, near Dresden, was founded by silviculturist Heinrich Cotta in 1811. Established in conjunction with the school, and later integrated wit ...

Tharandt Tharandt () is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden. It has a Protestant Church and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded as the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry by Heinrich Cott ...

, near Dresden.

Research

The

International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...

lists his botanical interests as

Pteridophytes A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

and Spermatophytes.Author Details
International Plant Names Index He published on the flora of Spanish forests. He also studied the botany of the Philippines, which was at the time a Spanish colonial possession, although he did not visit the country. He described a tree, ''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...

jordanae'' Laguna, which had been collected in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

by one of his forestry service colleagues. (The tree has been reclassified as a lithocarpus since Laguna made the species known to science). His interest in insects related to his studies of their impact on trees.

Honours and legacy

* Laguna was a member of the

Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences ( Spanish: ''Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales'') is an academic institution and learned society that was founded in Madrid in 1847. It is dedicated to the study and research of mathem ...

. * A school is named after him in his native town. * The “Máximo Laguna” Arboretum at Valsaín in the

Sierra de Guadarrama The Sierra de Guadarrama (Guadarrama Mountains) is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de G ...

was planted in 1997 to commemorate World Forestry Day. Valsaín has since been included by UNESCO in a

Biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, Real Sitio de San Ildefonso-El Espinar.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laguna, Benjamin Maximo 19th-century Spanish botanists Forestry academics Spanish foresters People from the Province of Ciudad Real 1822 births 1902 deaths Forestry in Spain Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry alumni