The Orto Botanico di Montemarcello is a 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, an ...

located within the Parco Naturale Regionale di Montemarcello-Magra, near

Ameglia Ameglia ( lij, Ameggia, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region of Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about southeast of La Spezia. Ameglia borders the municipalities of Lerici and S ...

Province of La Spezia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The garden stands atop Mount Murlo (365 m) within the Caprione promontory, hills dividing the gulf of La Spezia from the Magra river plain. It contains plants indigenous to the region, including ''

Arbutus unedo ''Arbutus unedo'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry — hence the common name ...

'', ''

Phillyrea latifolia ''Phillyrea latifolia'', commonly known as green olive tree or mock privet, is a species of tree in the family Oleaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin, from Morocco and Portugal in the west, to the Levant The Levant () is an ...

'', '' Pinus halepensis'', ''

Pistacia lentiscus ''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus ''Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek islan ...

'', ''

Rhamnus alaternus ''Rhamnus alaternus'' is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, known by the common names Italian buckthorn or Mediterranean buckthorn. It is a hardy medium-sized evergreen shrub with fragrant flowers. Etymology The s ...

'', '' Quercus cerris'', ''

Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen tr ...

'', '' Quercus pubescens'', as well as ''

Psoralea bituminosa ''Bituminaria bituminosa'', the Arabian pea or pitch trefoil, is a perennial Mediterranean herb species in the genus '' Bituminaria''. The pterocarpans bitucarpin A and B can be isolated from the aerial parts of ''B. bituminosa''. It has sev ...

'', ''

Ruta angustifolia ''Ruta'' (commonly known as rue) is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs, 20–60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and southwest Asia. About ten species are accepted in the genus. T ...

'', and '' Thymus vulgaris''.

References

Orto Botanico di Montemarcello (Italian)
Botanical gardens in Italy Province of La Spezia Gardens in Liguria {{Italy-garden-stub

See also

References