The Giardino Alpino Paradisia or Jardin alpin Paradisia (French), is an alpine nature preserve and botanical garden located at 1700 meters altitude in the

Gran Paradiso National Park Gran Paradiso National Park (Italian: ''Parco nazionale del Gran Paradiso''; ), 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 ...

at Valnontey,

Cogne Cogne (, ; Issime wae, Kunji) 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 ...

, Aosta Valley, Italy. 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 wetlands,

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and 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 glacier or ice shee ...

s, and limestone debris. The garden currently contains about 1,000 species of plants native to the Alps and

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

, as well as specimens from other mountains in Europe, Asia, and America. Species include '' Chenopodium bonus-henricus'', '' Berberis vulgaris'', ''

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'', ''

Rumex alpinus ''Rumex alpinus'', common name monk's-rhubarb, Munk's rhubarb or Alpine dock, is a leafy perennial herb in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to upland areas of Europe and Western Asia. Description ''Rumex alpinus'' is a perennial plant with ...

'', '' Rosa canina'', ''

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 ''Petrosedum rupestre'', also known as reflexed stonecrop, Jenny's stonecrop, blue stonecrop, stone orpine, prick-madam and trip-madam, is a species of perennial succulent flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to northern, central, ...

'', ''

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

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

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 ''Barbula unguiculata'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Pottiaceae. ''Barbula unguiculata'' is known to be able to use artificial light to grow in places which are otherwise devoid of natural light, such as Niagara Cave and Crystal ...

'', ''

Bartramia ithyphylla ''Bartramia ithyphylla'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Bartramiaceae. References

Bartramia (plant), ithyphylla {{bryidae-stub ...

'', ''

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 arti ...

'', '' Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostre'', '' Bryum argenteum'', ''

Bryum lanatum ''Bryum'' is a genus of mosses in the family Bryaceae. It was considered the largest genus of mosses, in terms of the number of species (over 1000), until it was split into three separate genera in a 2005 publication. As of 2013, the classificat ...

'', ''

Bryum capillare ''Ptychostomum capillare'', formerly designed as ''Bryum capillare,'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Bryaceae. It has cosmopolitan distribution. ''Ptychostomum capillare'' is known to be able to use artificial light to grow in ...

'', '' Bryum Klinggraeffii'', '' Campylium chrysophyllum'', '' Ceratodon piliferum'', '' Desmatodon latifolius'', '' Didymodon cylindricum'', '' Encalypta vulgaris'', '' 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 study of the effect of the herbicide Asulam on moss growth, ' ...

'', '' Eurhynchium diversifolium'', '' Fissidens bryoides'', ''

Grimmia elatior ''Grimmia'' is a genus of mosses (Bryophyta), originally named by Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart in honour of Johann Friedrich Carl Grimm, a physician and botanist from Gotha, Germany. Geographic distribution Although predominantly occurring in t ...

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

Homomallium incurvatum ''Homomallium incurvatum'' is a species of moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

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

Mnium spinulosum ''Mnium'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Mniaceae. The species of this genus are found in Europe and North America. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Mnium'': * ''Mnium arizonicum'' J.J. Amann – Arizona ...

'', ''

Orthotrichum alpestre ''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 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, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropr ...

'', ''

Pohlia nutans ''Pohlia nutans'', the nodding thread-moss, is a species of moss in the family Mniaceae. It has a Cosmopolitan distribution, found on all seven continents; Europe, Iceland, Siberia, Japan, North America, Greenland, the Andes of South America, Sou ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Tortula ruralis ''Syntrichia ruralis'', commonly known as twisted moss and star moss,Matthews, Robin F. 1993In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Pro ...

'', and ''

Tortula subulata ''Tortula'' is a genus of mosses in the family Pottiaceae. Species There are different classifications for the species included in the genus. The delimitation of genus Tortula is problematic and was subject to a number of alterations in the pas ...

''.

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