The Arboretum Robert Ruffier-Lanche (3 hectare) is an arboretum

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

 located on the campus of the Université Joseph Fourier at 2233 rue de la Piscine, Saint-Martin-d'Hères

Saint-Martin-d'Hères

Saint-Martin-d'Hères is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.It is the largest suburb of the city of Grenoble, and is adjacent to it on the east.-Education:...

, Isère

Isère

Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...

, Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is open daily without charge.

The arboretum was created in 1966 beside the Isère River

Isère River

The Isère is a 286 km long river in southeastern France, in the Rhône-Alpes région. Its source is in the Alps on the border with Italy, near the ski resort Val d'Isère. It flows into the Rhône River in Pont-de-l'Isère, a few km north of Valence...

 by Robert Ruffier-Lanche, head gardener of the Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret

Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret

The Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret is an alpine botanical garden located at 2100 metres altitude in the Col du Lautaret of the Dauphiné Alps, near Villar-d'Arêne, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France...

. After some years of neglect, its restoration began in 1999. Today the arboretum contains over 200 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of trees and shrubs from temperate environments around the world, including particularly fine specimens of Davidia involucrata, Paulownia tomentosa

Paulownia tomentosa

Paulownia tomentosa is a deciduous tree in the genus Paulownia, native to central and western China, but invasive in the US...

 var tsinlingensis, and Quercus rugosa

Quercus rugosa

Quercus rugosa is a species of oak tree which is found in Mexico and the southwestern United States.-Source:...

.