The Arboretum de Pézanin or Arboretum Domanial de Pézanin (''Federal Arboretum of Pézanin'') is an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

located in Dompierre-les-Ormes,

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...

, Bourgogne,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is one of the oldest and richest forest collections in

, with trees and plants from all around the world.

History

The arboretum was established in 1903 by the famous French botanist Philippe de Vilmorin (1872-1917), ''seigneur'' of Audour. He created the arboretum around the lake on his estate at Pézanin. Between 1903 and 1923, over 1100 species were planted, mainly from North America and Asia. After that, it fell into a period of abandonment until it was acquired by the state in 1935. It is now owned by the French Ministry of Agriculture and managed by the '' Office national des Forêts (ONF)''. Although the arboretum was damaged by storms in 1981 and 1999, it has recently undergone renewed plantings. Today it contains more than 450

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of trees, with walking paths and a pond. There is also a

geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

sudocache.

The arboretum

Description

The ONF wants to open the arboretum to a large audience, and creates walking paths and puts tags on each trees to indicate species, and other useful information. The arboretum is partly accessible to disabled people: the trail around the lake was specially made to allow their access. There is a forest house, a picnic area and parking inside and outside the site.

Access

The arboretum is accessible through the RCEA (Route Centre Europe Atlantique), exit ''Dompierre-les-Ormes'', at 20 minutes from

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

( motorway of the sun, train and TGV station, A40 autoroute,...), 1 hour from

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and 2 hour from

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

The Lab71

Since 2004, the site of Pézanin has been completed by the ''Lab71'' located two minutes from the arboretum. The Lab is an exhibition and education site.La Galerie du bois (English)
/ref> Throughout the season, the Lab organizes themed events and conferences. It aims through fun and educational activities set in temporary exhibitions to encourage visitors to discover and touch wood or to take a stroll or a deer walk through the exceptional setting of the forest.

Gallery

Image:Arboretum de Pézanin 2014.jpg, Image:Arboretum et lac de Pézanin.jpg, Image:Aire de pique-nique de l'Arboretum de Pézanin.jpg, Image:Arboretum de Pézanin.jpg, Image:La galerie européenne de la forêt et du bois.jpg,

References

BaLaDO.fr entry (French)

Bien Public article
"L'arboretum de Pézanin célèbre ses 100 ans", October 5, 2003. (French)
Conservatoire des Jardins et Paysages entry (French)
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pezanin, Arboretum de Gardens in Saône-et-Loire Pezanin