Arboretum of Chevreloup

[img_assist|nid=41275|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=300|height=400]

The national Chèvreloup arboretum is a veritable living museum of the tree, spread over 200 hectares (494 acres). Located a few kilometres from Paris, in the national domain of Versailles, it offers a panorama of tree species from the northern hemisphere.

A place where the tree is king

The arboretum is a favoured place in which to study all the arboricultural species from the northern hemisphere's temperate and cold regions: 217 European species, 37 from the Caucasus, 500 from China, 460 from Japan and Korea, 700 from North America, not to mention the cedars from the Atlas, the pines, the rhododendrons, etc. It forms a scientific reference collection for botanists, geneticists and physiologists who are studying the conditions of development, adaptation of tree species to temperate climates and tree illnesses. It also has a role in conservation, holding 70 endangered species listed by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources). The lime blossoms, spruces and oaks are reference collections registered at the CCVS (French conservatory of specialised plant collections). A horticultural zone, closed to the public, holds what are known as cultivars, in other words plants that do not exist in the wild and which are propagated by grafting, cuttings or layering. Finally, two groups of greenhouses serve to enrich the Museum's collections: the horticultural greenhouses where flowering plants intended decorate the Jardin des Plantes de Paris are cultivated and the botanical greenhouses where part of the Museum's tropical collections is kept.

PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS