Jardin botanique universitaire de Poitiers

The Jardin botanique universitaire de Poitiers (33 hectares) is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Poitiers. It is located at 443 Route du deffend, Mignaloux-Beauvoir, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, and open daily without charge.

The garden is located on the former domaine du Deffend, which was purchased by the state in 1962 and established as a regional plant heritage centre in 1996. It was named a botanical garden in 2005 with the following missions:

• conservation of regional plants by developing thematic gardens (fruits, vegetables, etc.)
• education and public awareness
• supporting university research
• preservation of heritage collections of the University of Poitiers, including a herbarium dating to the nineteenth century,

Today the garden contains two small forests (6 hectares), two ponds, a farm dating to the nineteenth century, and a 17th-century dovecote. Its arboretum contains 90 oak taxa, as well as a good collection of heritage apple trees. Other collections include local orchids, aquatic plants, and medicinal plants.

See also

• List of botanical gardens in France

References

• Observatoire Régional de l'Environnement de Poitou-Charentes
• Parcs et Jardins entry (French)
• Gralon entry (French)
• University of Poitiers description (French)

46°33′23″N0°24′33″E / 46.5565°N 0.4092°E / 46.5565; 0.4092