The Jardin botanique universitaire de Poitiers (33 hectares) is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

maintained by the University of Poitiers. It is located at 443 Route du deffend,

Mignaloux-Beauvoir Mignaloux-Beauvoir () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Geography Climate Mignaloux-Beauvoir has an oceanic climate (subtype "Cfb" according to the Köppen Climate Classification). ...

, Vienne,

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and open daily without charge. The garden is located on the former domaine du Deffend, which was purchased by the state in 1962 and in 1996 established as a regional plant heritage center. It was named a botanical garden in 2005 with the following missions: * conservation of regional plants by developing thematic gardens (

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

s, etc.) * education and public awareness * supporting university research * preservation of heritage collections of the University of Poitiers, including a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...

dating to the nineteenth century, Today the garden contains two small forests (6 hectares), two ponds, a farm dating to the nineteenth century, and a 17th-century

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

. Its

contains 90 oak

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, as well as a good collection of heritage

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

trees. Other collections include local

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

s, and medicinal plants.

References

Observatoire Régional de l'Environnement de Poitou-Charentes

University of Poitiers description (French)
Gardens in Poitiers Poitiers, Jardin botanique universitaire de University of Poitiers {{France-garden-stub

See also

References