The Jardin exotique du Fort Napoléon is a

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. is ...

specializing in

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

s. It is located on the grounds of Fort Napoléon at 120 m altitude above

Terre-de-Haut Terre-de-Haut (; ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, including Terre-de-Haut Island and a few other small uninhabited islands of the archipelago (''les Roches Percées''; '' Îlet à Cabrit''; '' Grand-Îlet''; ''la Red ...

Îles des Saintes The Îles des Saintes (; ), also known as Les Saintes (, ), is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided into two communes: Terre- ...

, and is open daily. Fort Napoléon was first erected in 1777 as Fort Louis, destroyed by the British in 1809, rebuilt from 1844, and given its present name during the reign of

Napoleon III of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of m ...

. Today's exotic garden was created in 1984 and paired with the Jardin Exotique de Monaco in 1986, with whom it began plant exchanges in 1987. Today the garden contains a collection of local plants and other succulents including

Agavaceae Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agaves ...

Cactaceae A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

, succulent

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae. Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being ''Eu ...

, and

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

. Of particular interest are its collections of rare and endangered Cactaceae, including ''

Mammillaria nivosa ''Mammillaria nivosa'' is a species of cactus also known by the name woolly nipple cactus and is native to the Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic O ...

'', ''

Melocactus intortus ''Melocactus intortus'', also known as the Turk's head cactus, is a species of cactus endemic to the Caribbean. Etymology The Turks Islands in the Turks and Caicos are named after this cactus, whose red cephalium resembles the fez worn by ...

'', ''

Opuntia dillenii ''Opuntia dillenii'' is a species of prickly pear native to the tropical and subtropical Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's ...

'', ''

Opuntia rubescens ''Opuntia'', commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Cacti are native to the Americas, and are well adapted to arid climat ...

'', ''

Opuntia triacantha ''Opuntia triacantha'' is a species of cactus known by the common names Spanish lady, Keys Joe-jumper, Big Pine Key prickly-pear, and jumping prickly apple. Description This cactus grows prostrate or upright to a maximum length of 60 centimet ...

'', ''

Opuntia tuna ''Opuntia tuna'' is a species of cactus in the genus ''Opuntia''. Distribution and Habitat It is endemic to Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic), Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands. Taxonomy The first description was in 1753 by Carl Li ...

'', ''

Pereskia aculeata ''Pereskia aculeata'' is a scrambling shrub in the family Cactaceae. Common names include Barbados gooseberry, blade-apple cactus, leaf cactus, rose cactus, and lemonvine. It is native to tropical America. The leaves and fruits are edible, conta ...

'', ''

Pilosocereus nobilis ''Pilosocereus'' (from Latin, "hairy cereus") is a genus of cactus native to the Neotropics. Tree cactus is a common name for ''Pilosocereus'' species. The genera ''Caerulocereus'' and ''Pseudopilocereus'' are synonyms of this genus. The commonl ...

'', and ''

Selenicereus grandiflorus ''Selenicereus grandiflorus'' is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as queen of the night, night-blooming cereus (though these two terms are also used for other speci ...

''.

References

BGCI entry

Conservatoire des Jardins et Paysages entry (French)

Conservatoire des Jardins et Paysages description (French)

Guadeloupe-fr.com description (French)

Gardens in Îles des Saintes Fort Napoleon, Jardin exotique du Fort Napoleon, Jardin exotique du {{France-garden-stub

See also

References