The Giardino Botanico Ponziano is a private 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...

 located on Villa Madonna collina Belvedere, Ponza

Ponza

Ponza is the largest of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located 33 km south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in the Lazio region....

 in the Pontine Islands

Pontine Islands

The Pontine Islands are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipelago are Palmarola, Zannone,...

, Province of Latina

Province of Latina

The Province of Latina is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Latina.It has an area of 2,251 km², and a total population of 519,850...

, Lazio, 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...

.

The garden was established in the 1980s by Dr. Biagio Vitiello, and contains a variety of woody plants typical of the Pontine Islands

Pontine Islands

The Pontine Islands are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipelago are Palmarola, Zannone,...

 and now threatened. It also contains a collection of wild orchids, including Neottia nidus-ovis, Ophrys tenthredinifera

Ophrys tenthredinifera

Ophrys tenthredinifera is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean....

, Orchis morio, Orchis papilionacea, Serapias lingua

Serapias lingua

Serapias lingua, common name, Toungue orchid or The Tongue Serapias, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean. It can be found in damp meadows and open fields of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece and all the Mediterranean islands west of Crete and in western...

, and Spiranthes spiralis.

Other species include Anthyllis barba-jovis, Arbutus unedo, Artemisia arboris, Asparagus acutifolius

Asparagus acutifolius

Asparagus acutifolius, common name Wild Asparagus, is an evergreen perennial plant belonging to the genus Asparagus of the Liliaceae family...

, Cistus monspeliensis

Cistus monspeliensis

Cistus monspeliensis is a species of rockrose known by the common name Montpelier cistus. It is native to southern Europe and northern Africa, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecosystems of matorral—maquis shrublands.-Description:...

, Cistus salvifolius, Daphne sericea, Erica arborea, Erica multiflora, Euphorbia arboris, Juniperus phoenicea

Juniperus phoenicea

Juniperus phoenicea, the Phoenicean Juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal east to Italy, Turkey and Egypt, south on the mountains of Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and in western Saudi Arabia near the Red Sea, and also on Madeira and the Canary...

, Laurus nobilis, Lonicera implexa, Medicago arborea

Medicago arborea

Medicago arborea is a plant species of the genus Medicago. Common names include moon trefoil, shrub medick, and tree medick. It is found throughout Europe and especially in the Mediterranean basin. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti, which is capable of...

, Myrtus communis, Pistacea lentiscus, Rhamnus alaternus

Rhamnus alaternus

Rhamnus alaternus is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family known by the common name of Italian Buckthorn or Mediterranean Buckthorn.-Etymology:...

, Ricinus communis, Scilla maritima, Smilax aspera

Smilax aspera

Smilax aspera, common name Rough Bindweed or Sarsaparille, is a species of flowering vine in the greenbriar family, Smilacaceae.-Description:...

, Spartium junceum, Sternbergia lutea

Sternbergia lutea

Sternbergia lutea is a bulbous flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae, which is used as an ornamental plant...

, Thymelaea hirsuta, and Viburnum tinus

Viburnum tinus

Viburnum tinus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Viburnum, belonging to the family Adoxaceae. Laurus signifies the leaves' similarities to bay laurel; tinus means "tenth born".-Description: It is a shrub reaching up to 2-7 m tall, with a dense, rounded crown...

. This privately owned botanical garden of rare endangered flowering plants is almost directly above the Grotta di Ulisse O Del Sangue, which means Cave of Ulysses of the Blood. This cave or grotto is a must see for Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

fanatics, as well as the nearby Grotta della Maga Circe or Cave of the Sorceress Circe.