The Giardino Montano Linasia (9,000 m²) is a nature preserve and 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 at 720 meters altitude near Monte Linas in San Benedetto, Iglesias

Iglesias

Iglesias is a comune of Carbonia-Iglesias province in Sardinia, Italy.-Overview:Situated at 190 m in the hills in the southwest of Sardinia, it was a centre of a mining district, with lead, zinc, and silver being extracted, as well as for the distillation of sulfuric acid.Iglesias'...

, Province of Carbonia-Iglesias

Province of Carbonia-Iglesias

Carbonia-Iglesias is a province in the autonomous region of Sardinia, Italy which includes the historical region of Sulcis-Iglesiente, the southwestern part of Sardinia.-Overview:...

, Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, 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...

. Opening days depend on the time of year; an admission fee is charged.

The garden was established in 1989 by the Ente Foreste della Sardegna, and realized in 1992 in collaboration with the Istituto di Botanica dell'Università di Cagliari

University of Cagliari

The University of Cagliari is a university located in Cagliari, Italy. It was founded in 1620 and is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:The Studium Generalis Kalaritanum was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old Spanish Universities of Salamanca, Valladolid and Lérida...

. It is organized into four major sections as follows: open areas; wooded areas; riparian vegetation; and endemic plant collection. Plants are labeled with scientific names and geographic origins.

Today the garden contains roughly 60 species of endemic plants, as well as some 20 species of nonnative introductions. Endemic species include Allium parciflorum, Aquilegia nugorensis, Arenaria balearica, Armeria sulcitana, Arum pictum, Barbarea rupicola, Bellium bellidioides, Bellium crassifolium, Borago pygmaea, Bryonia marmorata, Carlina macrocephala, Centaurea filiformis, Crocus minimus, Cymbalaria aequitriloba, Delphinium pictum, Euphorbia cupanii, Euphorbia hyberna, Galium schmidii, Genista aetnensis

Genista aetnensis

Genista aetnensis or Mount Etna Broom is a large shrub or small tree endemic to the island of Sicily, in Italy.It is a very common constituent of the garigue plant communities, Mediterranean shrubby vegetation, around the lower slopes of Mount Etna.Young plants are typical of brooms but as they age...

, Genista corsica, Genista morisii, Genista valsecchiae, Glechoma sardoa, Helichrysum montelinasanum, Helleborus argutifolius, Hypericoum hircinum, Iberis integerrima, Limonium merxmuelleri, Linaria arcusangeli, Mentha insularis, Mentha requienii

Mentha requienii

Corsican mint is a herb and species of mint, native to Corsica, Sardinia, France, and mainland Italy. It grows to 3-10 cm tall, with small leaves 2-7 mm long....

, Morisia monantha, Ophrys chestermanii, Ophrys morisii, Orchis mascula, Ornithogalum corsicum, Pancratium illyricum

Pancratium illyricum

Pancratium illyricum is a species of bulbous plant native to Corsica, Sardinia and Capraia. It grows on rocky slopes and sparse woodland areas, from sea level to more than 1300 m above sea level. It is a bulbous perennial with glaucous leaves, 30–60 cm long, 1½–½ cm wide. Leaves...

, Plagius flosculosus, Plantago subulata, Polygonum scoparium, Psoralea morisiana, Ptilostemon casabonae, Rhamnus persicifolius, Ribes sandalioticum, Salvia desoleana

Salvia desoleana

Salvia desoleana is a herbaceous perennial shrub native to the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean. It is endemic to four or five specific locations on the island in sunny locations on limestone, granitic, and igneous rock...

, Saxifraga cervicornis, Saxifraga corsica, Santolina insularis, Seseli bocconii, Scorzonera callosa, Scrophularia trifoliata, Sesleria insularis, Soleirolia soleirolii

Soleirolia soleirolii

Soleirolia soleirolii is a plant in the nettle family. It has a number of common names, including baby's tears, angel's tears, mind-your-own-business, peace-in-the-home, pollyanna vine, mother of thousands, and the Corsican curse...

, Stachys glutinosa, Stachys corsica, Teucrium subspinosum, Thymus herba, Vinca sardoa, and Viola corsica.