The Chanousia Alpine Botanical Garden (, ) (about 10,000 m²) is an alpine

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. is ...

located at 2170 meters altitude near

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

, at the

Little St Bernard Pass The Little St Bernard Pass (French: ''Col du Petit Saint-Bernard'', Italian: ''Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo'') is a mountain pass in the Alps on the France–Italy border. Its saddle is at 2188 metres above sea level. It is located between Sa ...

. Though located in France, it belongs to the Italian commune of

La Thuile LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

(

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

). It was founded by Valdostan abbot and botanist

Pierre Chanoux Pierre Chanoux (1828 - 9 February 1909) was a Benedictine monk in charge of a mountain convent and hospice. He was an amateur botanist who started a garden of alpine plants, still maintained as the Chanousia Alpine Botanical Garden located at locat ...

. It is open daily in the warmer months. The garden was first established in 1897 by Abbot Pierre Chanoux, and in its best years contained about 2500

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of mountain plants from the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and around the world. It was badly damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and restored starting in 1978. Today the garden contains about 1200 species which flourish in a short growing spell (two months) between heavy winters with snowfall ranging from 4–8 meters. Chanousia

References

Giardino Botanico Alpino Chanousia
Official site
Chanousia
Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley]
Giardino Botanico Alpino "Chanousia"
BGCI Botanical gardens in Italy Buildings and structures in Aosta Valley Gardens in Aosta Valley {{Italy-garden-stub

See also

References