The jardin des plantes de Montpellier (4.5 hectares) is a historic

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 ...

and

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 on Boulevard Henri IV,

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

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 maintained by the Université Montpellier 1 and open afternoons daily except Monday; admission is free. The garden was established in 1593 by letters patent from

King Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

, under the leadership of

Pierre Richer de Belleval Pierre Richer de Belleval (1564 – November 17, 1632), was a French botanist. He is considered the father of scientific botany. Richer de Belleval was born in Châlons-en-Champagne. His father was N. Richer or Richier. He first went to Mon ...

, professor of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. It is France's oldest botanical garden, inspired by the

Orto botanico di Padova The Orto Botanico di Padova is a botanical garden in Padua, in the northeastern part of Italy. Founded in 1545 by the Venetian Republic, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. The garden – af ...

(1545) and in turn serving as model for the jardin des plantes de Paris (1626). The ''Montagne de Richer'' lies within the garden's oldest section, which also now contains a systematic garden. The garden was expanded twice in the 19th century. Its orangery was designed by Claude-Mathieu Delagardette (1762–1805) and completed in 1804, the arboretum was landscaped in 1810, and the English Garden, with pool and greenhouse, dates from 1859. The monumental Martins greenhouse opened in 1860. Today the garden contains about 2,680 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 ...

, including 500 native to the Mediterranean region. Of these roughly 2,000 species are grown outdoors, and 1,000 under glass. Major sections of the garden are as follows: * ''Montagne de Richer'' - a

Cistaceae The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that are ...

collection * Systematic garden - plants classified according to the Bentham & Hooker system, 1883, complemented by

Elias Durand Elias Durand (January 25, 1794 – August 15, 1873), born Élie Magloire Durand, was an American pharmacist and botanist.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Press Company, Library of Congress Card Number 61-18435 He was born ...

, 1887. * Medicinal plants - about 250 plants of traditional Mediterranean medicines and herbs * Succulents - about 50 species * Orangery and cold greenhouse - about 110 species * Palm trees - 9 varieties, including ''

Brahea armata ''Brahea armata'', commonly known as Mexican blue palm or blue hesper palm, is a large evergreen tree of the palm family Arecaceae, endemic to Baja California, Mexico. It is widely planted as an ornamental. Description It grows to a height o ...

'' and ''

Butia capitata ''Butia capitata'', also known as jelly palm, is a ''Butia'' palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as ''coquinho-azedo'' or ''butiá'' in (northern) Minas Gerais.Fruits of Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc ...

''. * Arboretum - Fine mature specimens including ''

Acer neapolitanum Acer may refer to: * ''Acer'' (plant), the genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples * Acer Inc., a computer company in Taiwan ** Acer Laboratories Incorporated, a subsidiary company of Acer, Inc., that designs and manufactures integrated ...

'', ''

Celtis sinensis ''Celtis sinensis'' (English: Chinese hackberry; Chinese: ; Japanese: ) is a species of flowering plant in the hemp family, Cannabaceae, that is native to slopes in East Asia. Description It is a tree that grows to 20 m tall, with deciduous ...

'', ''

Cinnamomum camphora ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

'', ''

Cupressus goveniana ''Cupressus goveniana'', now reclassified as ''Hesperocyparis goveniana'', with the common names Californian cypress and Gowen cypress, is a species of cypress, that is endemic to California. Distribution The tree is endemic to the Monterey Pen ...

'', ''

Cupressus macrocarpa ''Hesperocyparis macrocarpa'' is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California. The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of Califor ...

'', ''

Cupressus sempervirens ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southern Albania, sou ...

'', '' Quercus calliprinos'', ''

Quercus coccifera ''Quercus coccifera'', the kermes oak, is an oak bush in the ''Ilex'' section of the genus. It is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern African Maghreb, south to north from Morocco to France and west to east from Portugal to Cyprus an ...

'', and '' Zelkova serrata''. The male ''

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 ...

'', planted in the late 18th century, is particularly noteworthy. * Greenhouse - 423 species in three rooms, including a tropical room with large central basin for

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

s, and two temperate rooms. Of interest are the collections of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

, and

Orchidaceae 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 flowering ...

, with good collections from

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. * Naturalized plants - including '' Delphinium requienii'', ''

Fumaria bicolor ''Fumaria bicolor'' is a species of plant in the family Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally know ...

'', ''

Fumaria kralikii ''Fumaria'' (fumitory or fumewort, from Latin ', "smoke of the earth") is a genus of about 60 species of annual flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. The genus is native to Europe, Africa and Asia, most diverse in the Mediterranean r ...

'', ''

Linaria reflexa ''Linaria'' is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Plantag ...

'', '' Modiola caroliniana'', ''

Salpichroa origanifolia ''Salpichroa origanifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common names lily of the valley vine, pampas lily-of-the-valley or cock's-eggs. Distribution and habitat This species is native to South America (B ...

'', ''

Symphytum orientale ''Symphytum orientale'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Boraginaceae. Its native range is Turkey, Ukraine to Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comp ...

'', and '' Stipa trichotoma''.

References

Jardin des plantes de Montpellier
* Jean-Antoine Rioux. ''Le Jardin des plantes de Montpellier''. Graulhet : Odyssée, 1994, 230 p. . * Jean-Antoine Rioux. ''Le Jardin des plantes de Montpellier : les leçons de l'histoire''. Montpellier : Sauramps Medical, 2004, 114 p. . * Jarry, Daniel & Balmès, Michel. ''Les Plantes médicinales au jardin botanique : vade-mecum au jardin des plantes de Montpellier''. Montpellier : Sauramps médical, 2004, 104 p. . * Jarry, Daniel M. ''Le jardin des plantes de Montpellier : à découvrir ou à redécouvrir''. Montpellier : Sauramps médical, 2008, 90 p. .
1001 Fleurs entry (French)

* French Wikipedia article :fr:Jardin des plantes de Montpellier {{DEFAULTSORT:Montpellier, jardin des plantes de Gardens in Hérault Botanical gardens in France Tourist attractions in Montpellier

See also

References