The Giardino Botanico Alpinia (4 hectares) is a botanical garden

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 alpine plant

Alpine plant

Alpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...

s, located at 800 m altitude above Stresa

Stresa

Stresa is a town and comune of about 5,000 inhabitants on the shores of the Lago Maggiore in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy; it is situated on the road and rail routes to the Simplon pass, about 90 km north-west of Milan. Since the early 20th century, the main source of income has been the...

 on Lake Maggiore

Lake Maggiore

Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...

, Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1996 through the fusion of three distinct regions which had previously been part of the Province of Novara...

, Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It can be reached via the Lido di Carciano - Alpino - Mottarone cable car, and is open daily in the warmer months.

The garden was established in 1934 with the name Duxia on a site with very fine views of the lake and mountains. Today it contains about 1,000 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...

, focusing mainly on the Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

 and foothills, with additional specimens from the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Its collections include Artemisia (A. atrata, A. borealis, A. campestris, A. chamaemelifolia, A. genipi, A. Umbelliformis, A. vallesiaca), Campanula

Campanula

Campanula is one of several genera in the family Campanulaceae with the common name bellflower. It takes its name from their bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for "little bell"....

(C. bononiensis, C. excisa, C. glomerata, C. spicata, C. thyrsoides), Centaurea

Centaurea

Centaurea is a genus of between 350 and 600 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich...

(C. bracteata, C. cyanus, C. montana, C. phrygia, C. scabiosa, C. triumfetti), Dianthus

Dianthus

Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation , pink and sweet William Dianthus is a genus of...

(D. alpinus, D. carthusianorum, D. seguieri, D. sylvestris), Geranium (G. argenteum, G. macrorrhizum, G. phaeum, G. pratense, G. sanguineum, G. sylvaticum), and Silene

Silene

Silene is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Common names include campion and catchfly....

(S. alpestris, S. dioica, S. rupestris, S. saxifraga, S. vallesia).

Additional species are displayed on nearby walks. The garden's nature walk displays Acer pseudoplatanus, Arundo donax

Arundo donax

Arundo donax, Giant Cane, is a tall perennial cane growing in damp soils, either fresh or moderately saline. Other common names include Carrizo, Arundo, Spanish cane, Wild cane, and Giant reed....

, Betula pubescens, Cytisus scoparius

Cytisus scoparius

Cytisus scoparius, the Common Broom and Scotch Broom, syn. Sarothamnus scoparius, is a perennial leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe,....

, Fagus sylvatica, Frangula alnus, Fraxinus excelsior, Juniperus communis

Juniperus communis

Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.-...

, Laburnum anagyroides

Laburnum anagyroides

Laburnum anagyroides is a species of small deciduous trees or large shrubs up to 7 m tall in the genus Laburnum, native to Central and Southern Europe. It is a popular ornamental plant, along with the other species in the genus, L. alpinum, and especially the hybrid between them, L. × watereri. L...

, Lythrum salicaria, Sorbus aria

Sorbus aria

Sorbus aria , the Whitebeam or Common Whitebeam is a deciduous tree, compact and domed, with few upswept branches; it generally favours dry limestone and chalk soils. The hermaphrodite cream-white flowers appear in May, are insect pollinated, and go on to produce scarlet berries, which are often...

, S. aucuparia, as well as Iris pseudacorus

Iris pseudacorus

Iris pseudacorus is a species of Iris, native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Common names include yellow iris and yellow flag...

, I. sibirica, Myosotis scorpioides

Myosotis scorpioides

Myosotis scorpioides , the Water Forget-me-not or True Forget-me-not, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Myosotis. It is native to Europe and Asia and it can be found elsewhere, including much of North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It grows in bogs and...

, Salix sp., Scirpus sylvaticus, Silphium perfoliatum

Silphium perfoliatum

Silphium perfoliatum is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in Asteraceae, the aster family, it is native from Eastern and Central North America. It grows in prairies, open woodlands, and on stream banks....

, and Typha latifolia

Typha latifolia

Typha latifolia is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus Typha. It is found as a native plant species in North and South America, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa...

. The trail from Stresa to the Mottarone passes by Androsace vandellii, Campanula glomerata, Gentiana asclepiadea

Gentiana asclepiadea

Gentiana asclepiadea is a species of the genus Gentiana. It is native to central and eastern Europe from primarily mountain woodland though it does occur in less wooded open pasture in some areas, perhaps persisting after woodland clearance.One of the larger species within the genus, it produces...

, G. kochiana, G. Kochiana, G. purpurea, Hypochoeris uniflora, Narcissus poeticus, Primula hirsuta, Rhododendron ferrugineum

Rhododendron ferrugineum

Rhododendron ferrugineum is an evergreen shrub that grows just above the tree line in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura and northern Apennines, on acid soils. It may grow up to 1 m tall and produces clusters of pinkish-red, bell-shaped flowers throughout the summer...

, Trollius europaeus, and Veratrum album

Veratrum album

Veratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine Veratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine Veratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine (also known as White Hellebore, European White Hellebore, White Veratrum; syn...

.