The Giardino Alpino Paradisia or Jardin alpin Paradisia (French), is an alpine nature preserve and

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 1700 meters altitude in the

Gran Paradiso National Park Gran Paradiso National Park (; ) is an Italian national park in the Graian Alps, between the Aosta Valley and Piedmont regions. The park is named after Gran Paradiso mountain, which is located in the park; it is contiguous with the French Vanois ...

at Valnontey,

Cogne Cogne (, ; Issime ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in Aosta Valley, northern Italy, with 1369 inhabitants, as of 2017. Geography Cogne is located in the valley with the same name along a stream known as the Torrent Grand Eyvia. It is ...

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is open daily in the warmer months. The garden was founded in 1955, and named for ''

Paradisea liliastrum ''Paradisea liliastrum'' (or St Bruno's lily) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Apennines. History This species was mentioned by the Greek physician Dioscorides in his bo ...

'' (St. Bruno's Lily). It is primarily a nature preserve but also contains man-made reconstructions of nearby mountain environments, including

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

s, and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

debris. The garden currently contains about 1,000

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 plants native to 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

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, as well as specimens from other mountains in Europe, Asia, and America. Species include ''

Chenopodium bonus-henricus ''Blitum bonus-henricus'' ( syn. ''Chenopodium bonus-henricus''), also called Good-King-Henry, poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot which is n ...

'', ''

Berberis vulgaris ''Berberis vulgaris'', also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus ''Berberis'' native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tar ...

'', ''

Eriophorum scheuchzeri ''Eriophorum scheuchzeri'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names Scheuchzer's cottongrass and white cottongrass. It has an arctic circumpolar and circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It ...

'', ''

Pinguicula vulgaris ''Pinguicula'', commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they ...

'', '' Rumex alpinus'', ''

Rosa canina ''Rosa canina'', the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Description The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though it can scramble higher into the ...

'', ''

Rosa pendulina ''Rosa pendulina'', (syn. ''Rosa alpina''), the Alpine rose or mountain rose, is a species of wild rose found in the mountains of central and southern Europe. It appears to have survived in glacial refugia in the Alps and Carpathians, and spread ...

'', '' Sedum reflexum'', ''

Sedum album ''Sedum album'', the white stonecrop, is a flowering plant of the genus ''Sedum'' in the family Crassulaceae. It is found in the northern temperate regions of the world, often growing in crevices or free-draining rocky soil. As a long-day plant ...

'', ''

Sempervivum arachnoideum ''Sempervivum arachnoideum'', the cobweb house-leek, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to European mountains, in the Alps, Apennines and Carpathians. Growing to tall by wide, it is a rosette-forming succulent p ...

'', '' Sempervivum tectorum'', and ''

Urtica dioica ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...

''. According to a survey by Schumacker and Soldán, the garden's

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es includes ''

Acaulon muticum ''Acaulon muticum'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Pottiaceae The Pottiaceae are a Family (biology), family of mosses. They form the most numerous moss family known, containing nearly 1500 species or more than 10% of the 10,000 t ...

'', '' Barbula unguiculata'', ''

Bartramia ithyphylla ''Bartramia ithyphylla'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Bartramiaceae Bartramiaceae is a family of mosses belonging to the order Bartramiales. Genera Genera: * '' Anacolia'' * '' Bartramia'' * '' Bartramidula'' * ''Breutelia ...

'', ''

Brachythecium salebrosum ''Brachythecium salebrosum'' is a species of moss in the Brachytheciaceae family. It is widely distributed throughout the world, except for in South-America and in tropical regions. ''Brachythecium salebrosum'' is known to be able to use artifi ...

'', '' Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostre'', ''

Bryum argenteum ''Bryum argenteum'', the silvergreen bryum moss or silvery thread moss, is a species of moss in the family Bryaceae. It is one of the most common mosses of urban areas and can be easily recognized without a microscope. Description The species i ...

'', '' Bryum lanatum'', ''

Bryum capillare (formerly ''Bryum capillare'') is a species of moss in the Bryaceae family. It has cosmopolitan distribution and is known by the common name . ''Rosulabryum capillare'' can use artificial light Lighting or illumination is the deliberate u ...

'', '' Bryum Klinggraeffii'', '' Campylium chrysophyllum'', ''

Ceratodon piliferum ''Ceratodon'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Ditrichaceae. The genus was first described by Samuel Elisée Bridel-Brideri and has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Ceratodon'': ...

'', ''

Desmatodon latifolius ''Desmatodon'' is an extinct genus of diadectid reptiliomorph. With fossils found from the Kasimovian (Missourian) stage of the Late Carboniferous of Pennsylvania, Colorado, and New Mexico in the United States, ''Desmatodon'' is the oldest known ...

'', '' Didymodon cylindricum'', ''

Encalypta vulgaris ''Encalypta'' is a genus of moss in the family Encalyptaceae Encalyptaceae is a family of mosses in order Encalyptales Encalyptales is an order of moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxono ...

'', '' Eucladium hians'', ''

Eurhynchium praelongum ''Eurhynchium praelongum'' is a species of moss with a widespread distribution. Found in Australia, New Zealand, North America, northern South America, Eurasia and North Africa. In a 2003 study of the effect of the herbicide Asulam on moss growt ...

'', '' Eurhynchium diversifolium'', ''

Fissidens bryoides ''Fissidens'' is a genus of over 480 species of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in the family Fissidentaceae Fissidentaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae The Dicranidae are a widespread and diverse subclass of mosses ...

'', '' Grimmia elatior'', '' Grimmia ovalis'', ''

Homomallium incurvatum ''Homomallium incurvatum'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Hypnaceae Hypnaceae is a large family of moss with broad worldwide occurrence in the class Bryopsida, subclass Bryidae and order Hypnales. Genera include ''Hypnum'', ''Phy ...

'', '' Hypnum revolutum'', ''

Mnium spinulosum ''Mnium'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Mniaceae Mniaceae is a moss family in the order Bryales. Taxonomy The family Mniaceae includes the following genera: * ''Cinclidium (plant), Cinclidium'' * ''Cyrtomnium'' * ''Epiptery ...

'', '' Orthotrichum alpestre'', ''

Orthotrichum anomalum ''Orthotrichum'' is a genus of moss in the family Orthotrichaceae. It is distributed throughout the world. There are about 125 species in the genus. Species include:Orthotrichum rupestre ''Orthotrichum'' is a genus of moss in the family Orthotrichaceae. It is distributed throughout the world. There are about 125 species in the genus. Species include:Pohlia cruda ''Pohlia cruda'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Bryaceae. It has cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in a ...

'', '' Pohlia nutans'', ''

Racomitrium canescens ''Racomitrium'' is a genus of mosses in the family Grimmiaceae established in 1818 by Samuel Elisée Bridel-Brideri. It contains the following species: *'' Racomitrium aciculare'' *'' Racomitrium aduncoides'' *'' Racomitrium affine'' *'' Rac ...

'', ''

Schistidium apocarpum ''Schistidium'' is a plant genus in the moss family Grimmiaceae. Species ''The Plant List'' and ''Tropicos'' recognise about 150 accepted species: A * '' Schistidium abrupticostatum'' * '' Schistidium absconditum'' * '' Schistidium a ...

'', '' Tortula ruralis'', and '' Tortula subulata''.

References

Paradisia Alpine Botanical Garden on the Fondation Grand-Paradis website

BGCI entry
* R. Schumacker & Z. Soldán, "New Survey of the Bryophyte Flora of the Gran Paradiso National Park and its Immediate Surroundings. Preliminary Result", ''Journal of Mountain Ecology'', 4, Autumn 1997. ISSN 1590-3907. * Damien Simonis et al., ''Lonely Planet Italy'', Lonely Planet, 2006, page 253. . Botanical gardens in Italy Gardens in Aosta Valley {{Italy-garden-stub

See also

References