Martín Cárdenas Hermosa (November 12, 1899 – February 14, 1973) was a Bolivian botanist.

On his vacations in Cochabamba he went for long walks by gathering plants, of which he soon recorded their characteristics in books and journals at the Municipal Library of La Paz.

At that time, Cardenas had met Swedish botanist Erik Asplund, who had also shown a keen interest in studying the plants in Bolivia.

Asplund played an important role in enhancing his knowledge of botany and was an early mentor for him.

By May 1922, Cárdenas was already professor in the Special Natural Sciences and Chemistry, being an auxiliary senior instructor and later obtained a title at the Instituto Normal Superior de La Paz.