The Conservatoire botanique national de Mascarin (12.5 hectares) is a national conservatory 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, an ...

located at 2, rue du Père Georges, Colimaçons, Saint-Leu, Réunion,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is open daily except Monday; an admission fee is charged. The conservatory was established in 1986 as the ''Conservatoire et Jardin Botanique de Mascarin'' on farmland belonging to the family of the Marquis Antoine Sosthène Armand de Châteauvieux, at an elevation of 500 meters on the leeward side of La Réunion. In 1993 it was given its current name as it became one of France's eight ''Conservatoires Botaniques Nationaux''. In 1996 its mission changed focus from conservation within its gardens, and the cultivation and the propagation of rare and threatened plants endemic to La Réunion, to a primary emphasis on management and monitoring of species in their natural habitats. The conservatory's ongoing projects include establishing plots in mid-elevation wet forests for long-term study of plant diversity and vegetation dynamics; field surveys to determine locations for rare endemics (such as the highly endangered ''

Ruizia cordata ''Ruizia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae, containing the single species ''Ruizia cordata''. Its native range is Réunion."''Ruizia'' Can." Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 19 August 202 ...

'' and '' Carissa xylopicron''; replanting the endangered '' Lomatophyllum macrum'' in situ; and seed germination studies of endemic plants including '' Hugonia serrata'' and ''

Antirhea borbonica ''Antirhea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Distribution Species of ''Antirhea'' are found in: * Indian Ocean islands off Africa — Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues. * North America — the Caribbean and M ...

''. The conservatory's garden (3 hectares) contains about 4,000 plant

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 ...

endemic to the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their ...

, i.e., including

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

, and Rodrigues, as well as Réunion itself. It is organized into seven sections as follows: * Réunion collection - indigenous flora, including more than 50 endemic

. * Lontan plants - a historical collection of local

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, including

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

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 particu ...

trees,

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

, and geraniums. * Orchard - more than 50 fruit tree species. * Succulents - succulent plants and exotic cacti, including species from the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. * Palm trees - endemic and exotic

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm ...

s. * Orchids -

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 flowerin ...

s. * Bamboo ravine -

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

s. File:Euphorbe-Mascarin.jpg, an euphorbe to be identified in the garden. File:La Réunion Botanical Garden2.jpg File:St.leu-conservatoire.botanique.des.mascarins.7.JPG, File:St.leu-conservatoire.botanique.des.mascarins-Hyophorbe.indica.JPG, Hyophorbe indica File:Jacaranda-mimosifolia-Mascarin.jpg,

Jacaranda mimosifolia ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' is a sub-tropical tree native to south-central South America that has been widely planted elsewhere because of its attractive and long-lasting violet-colored flowers. It is also known as the jacaranda, blue jacaranda, ...

File:Mimosa pudica0.jpg,

Mimosa pudica ''Mimosa pudica'' (from la, pudica "shy, bashful or shrinking"; also called sensitive plant, sleepy plant, action plant, touch-me-not, shameplant) is a creeping annual or perennial flowering plant of the pea/legume family Fabaceae. It is often g ...

References

Conservatoire botanique national de Mascarin

BGCI article

Conservatoire des Jardins et Paysages entry (French)

* ttps://archive.today/20070709111342/http://www.stleu.fr/sections/tourisme/conservatoire-botanique Mairie de Saint-Leu description (French)
Conseil Général de La Réunion: Le conservatoire botanique de mascarin (French)
* https://web.archive.org/web/20180514213734/http://www.bgci.org/resources/article/0126/ {{Coord, -21.1377, 55.2953, type:landmark_region:RE, display=title Mascarin, Conservatoire botanique national de Mascarin, Conservatoire botanique national de Saint-Leu, Réunion

See also

References