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, an ...

located at 1700 meters altitude in the Gran Paradiso National Park 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 , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

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 ...

. It is open daily in the warmer months. The garden was founded in 1955, and named for '' Paradisea liliastrum'' (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 ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s, moraines, and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

debris. The garden currently contains about 1,000

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 ...

of plants native to the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

and Apennines, 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'', ''

Pinguicula vulgaris ''Pinguicula vulgaris'', the common butterwort, is a perennial carnivorous plant in the bladderwort family, Lentibulariaceae. Description It grows to a height of 3–16 cm, and is topped with a purple, and occasionally white, flower that i ...

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

Rosa canina ''Rosa canina'', commonly known as 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 sometimes i ...

'', '' Rosa pendulina'', '' Sedum reflexum'', '' Sedum album'', ''

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 ''Sempervivum tectorum'', the common houseleek, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to the mountains of southern Europe, cultivated in the whole of Europe for its appearance and a Roman tradition claiming that it pr ...

'', 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. Ori ...

''. According to a survey by Schumacker and Soldán, the garden's mosses includes '' Acaulon muticum'', '' Barbula unguiculata'', '' Bartramia ithyphylla'', '' Brachythecium salebrosum'', ''

Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostre ''Bryoerythrophyllum'' is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Pottiaceae. It was first described by Pan Chieh Chen and has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Bryoerythrophyllum'': *''B ...

'', ''

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 ''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 ''Encalypta'' is a genus of moss in the family Encalyptaceae Encalyptaceae is a family of mosses in order Encalyptales Encalyptales is an order of mosses in subclass Funariidae The Funariidae are a widespread group of mosses in class Bry ...

'', '' Eucladium hians'', '' Eurhynchium praelongum'', '' Eurhynchium diversifolium'', ''

Fissidens bryoides ''Fissidens'' is a genus of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in the family Fissidentaceae. Selected species: * '' Fissidens abbreviatus'' * '' Fissidens acacioides'' * '' Fissidens aciphyllus'' * '' Fissidens acreanus'' * '' Fissidens acutis ...

'', '' Grimmia elatior'', '' Grimmia ovalis'', '' Homomallium incurvatum'', '' 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 anomalum'', '' Orthotrichum rupestre'', '' Pohlia cruda'', '' Pohlia nutans'', '' Racomitrium canescens'', '' Schistidium apocarpum'', '' 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