Conservatoire du Bégonia
Encyclopedia
The Conservatoire du Bégonia (1,000 m²) is a botanical garden
specializing in begonia
s. It is located at 1 rue Charles Plumier, Rochefort
, Charente-Maritime
, Poitou-Charentes
, France
, and open for guided tours several days per week in early spring and late fall; an admission fee is charged.
The conservatory was established in 1988 in honor of royal botanist Charles Plumier
(1646–1704), who discovered begonia
s while on an American expedition, and Michel Bégon (1638-1710)
, expedition organizer and Rochefort intendant, for whom the flower was named in 1690. Thanks to their efforts, Rochefort was famed for its importation of exotic plants during the 17th-18th centuries, especially coffee
. The conservatory's original 650 m² floor space was extended in 1993 by a further 350 m². Its collection has grown by trades, purchases, and expeditions to South America
and Cameroon
.
Today the conservatory serves as the National Collection of the genus
Begonia
, and contains over 500 species
and 1,000 hybrid varieties. It describes itself as the world's largest begonia collection.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The 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 a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
specializing in begonia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia...
s. It is located at 1 rue Charles Plumier, Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
, Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes is an administrative region in central western France comprising four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. The regional capital is Poitiers.-Politics:The regional council is composed of 56 members...
, 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...
, and open for guided tours several days per week in early spring and late fall; an admission fee is charged.
The conservatory was established in 1988 in honor of royal botanist Charles Plumier
Charles Plumier
Charles Plumier was a French botanist, after whom the Frangipani genus Plumeria is named. Plumier is considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time...
(1646–1704), who discovered begonia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia...
s while on an American expedition, and Michel Bégon (1638-1710)
Michel Bégon (1638-1710)
Michel Bégon, known as Michel V Bégon or le Grand Bégon was a French ancien regime official...
, expedition organizer and Rochefort intendant, for whom the flower was named in 1690. Thanks to their efforts, Rochefort was famed for its importation of exotic plants during the 17th-18th centuries, especially coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. The conservatory's original 650 m² floor space was extended in 1993 by a further 350 m². Its collection has grown by trades, purchases, and expeditions to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
.
Today the conservatory serves as the National Collection of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Begonia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia...
, and contains over 500 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...
and 1,000 hybrid varieties. It describes itself as the world's largest begonia collection.