Arboretum de la Foux
Encyclopedia
The Arboretum de la Foux (10 hectares), also known as the Arboretum de Saint-Sauveur-des-Pourcils, is an arboretum
located within the Forêt de l'Aigoual near Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu
, northwest of Le Vigan, Gard
, Languedoc-Roussillon
, France
. It is open daily without charge.
The arboretum was created 1900-1910 for experimental introduction of foreign species into France. Scientific efforts ceased in 1963, and it has subsequently been maintained for educational purposes by the Office national des forêts. The site is on a southwest slope between 900 and 1500 meters altitude in an environment very conducive to forest vegetation; some trees reach heights that are records for Europe.
The arboretum's softwood collections include Abies cephalonica, Abies concolor, Abies grandis, Araucaria
, Atlas Cedar
, Nordmann Fir
, European Larch
and Japanese Larch
, Pinus laricio; common Spruce
, Oriental Spruce, Sitka Spruce
, Picea pungens, and Engelmann Spruce
; and Sequoia
, Thuja plicata
, and Tsuga heterophylla. Its hardwoods include ash, beech
, birch
, cherry
, chestnut
, red oak, and sycamore
.
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 within the Forêt de l'Aigoual near Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu
Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu
Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
, northwest of Le Vigan, Gard
Gard
Gard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
, Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea on the other side.-Geography:The region is...
, 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 1900-1910 for experimental introduction of foreign species into France. Scientific efforts ceased in 1963, and it has subsequently been maintained for educational purposes by the Office national des forêts. The site is on a southwest slope between 900 and 1500 meters altitude in an environment very conducive to forest vegetation; some trees reach heights that are records for Europe.
The arboretum's softwood collections include Abies cephalonica, Abies concolor, Abies grandis, Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
, Atlas Cedar
Atlas Cedar
Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas Cedar, is a cedar native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco . A majority of the modern sources treat it as a distinct species Cedrus atlantica, but some sources consider it a subspecies of Lebanon Cedar Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas Cedar, is a cedar native to...
, Nordmann Fir
Nordmann Fir
Nordmann Fir is a fir native to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia, Russian Caucasus and northern parts of Armenia. It occurs at altitudes of 900-2,200 m on mountains with a rainfall of over 1,000 mm.It is a large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 60 m tall...
, European Larch
European Larch
Larix decidua, common name European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathians, with disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland and southern Lithuania.-Description:...
and Japanese Larch
Japanese Larch
Japanese Larch is a species of larch native to Japan, in the mountains of Chūbu and Kantō regions in central Honshū....
, Pinus laricio; common Spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, Oriental Spruce, Sitka Spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
, Picea pungens, and Engelmann Spruce
Engelmann Spruce
Picea engelmannii is a species of spruce native to western North America, from central British Columbia and southwest Alberta, southwest to northern California and southeast to Arizona and New Mexico; there are also two isolated populations in northern Mexico...
; and Sequoia
Sequoia
Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae . Common names include coast redwood, California redwood, and giant redwood. It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living 12001800 years or more...
, Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata
Thuja plicata, commonly called Western or pacific red cedar, giant or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America...
, and Tsuga heterophylla. Its hardwoods include ash, beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
, red oak, and sycamore
Sycamore
Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....
.