The Arboretum de Grignon (0.8 hectares) is an

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 ...

located within the campus of the ''Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement'' (

AgroParisTech AgroParisTech (officially ''Institut des sciences et industries du vivant et de l'environnement'', or Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences)English naming according tEnglish brochure is a French higher educati ...

) on Avenue Lucien Brétignières, Thiverval-Grignon,

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

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 ...

. It is closed to the public but may be visited by groups. The arboretum was established in 1873 by Pierre Mouillefert, professor at Grignon, who published in 1896 a pamphlet describing the arboretum at that date; however, it was lost in 1940. The arboretum grew gradually over time, with the most recent plantings between 1976-1978. Various of the trees were labeled in 1975 by Mr. George Callen of the

Arboretum de Chèvreloup The Arboretum de Versailles-Chèvreloup (200 hectares) is a major arboretum located just north of the Palace of Versailles at 30, route de Versailles, Rocquencourt, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. It forms part of the Muséum national d'histoi ...

, and in 1991 Mr. Augustin Scalbert created a map identifying almost all trees. At that time, the arboretum contained approximately 230 specimens (66%

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, 34%

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s). Unfortunately, the arboretum was heavily damaged in the storm of December 1999, which destroyed 23 trees and severely damaged 16. In response, the ''Association de l'arbre de fer'' was established in 2001 to protect and enhance the natural environment of the former '' Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon''. In 2003 it began restoration and enlargement of the arboretum, as well as creation of a botanical trail and rehabilitation of the campus botanical garden. Today the arboretum contains about 125 tree

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

and varieties, including notable, mature specimens of '' Cedrus atlantica'', '' Fagus sylvatica var. "Tortuosa"'', ''

Ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossils ...

'', ''

Gleditsia triacanthos The honey locust (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey ...

'', '' Parrotia persica'', ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

subsp. laricio'', ''

Sophora japonica ''Styphnolobium japonicum'', the Japanese pagoda tree (also known as the Chinese scholar tree and pagoda tree; syn. ''Sophora japonica'') is a species of tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It was formerly included withi ...

"pendula"'', and ''

Zelkova carpinifolia ''Zelkova carpinifolia'', known as Caucasian zelkova, Caucasian elm or just zelkova, is a species of ''Zelkova'', native to the Caucasus, Kaçkar, and Alborz mountains in the extreme southeast of Europe and southwest Asia. It is a medium-size ...

''.

References

AgroParisTech - Grignon campus map

Association de l'arbre de fer (French)

{{coord, 48.8476, 1.9433, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Grignon, Arboretum de Grignon, Arboretum de

See also

References