Benjamín Máximo Laguna y Villanueva

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". 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 jordanae Laguna, which had been collected in Luzon 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. A school is named after him in his native town. The “Máximo Laguna” Arboretum at Valsaín in the Sierra de Guadarrama was planted in 1997 to commemorate World Forestry Day. Valsaín has since been included by UNESCO in a Biosphere reserve, "Real Sitio de San Ildefonso-El Espinar".