Jardin botanique de la Ville de Nice

The Jardin botanique de la Ville de Nice (3.5 hectares), also known as the Jardin botanique de Nice, is a municipal 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 78 avenue de la Corniche Fleurie, Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

, Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...

, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur or PACA is one of the 27 regions of France.It is made up of:* the former French province of Provence* the former papal territory of Avignon, known as Comtat Venaissin...

, 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 garden was begun in 1983 with an initial planting of 100 species from the city's Musée d'Histoire Naturelle (Museum of Natural History). It opened to the public in 1991.

Today the garden contains more than 3500 plant 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...

, mainly Mediterranean, including collections of tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s (300 taxa), herbaceous plant

Herbaceous plant

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

s (800 taxa), medicinal plants (150 spp.), Cistaceae

Cistaceae

The Cistaceae is a small family of plants known for its beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom...

, Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae

Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...

, Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae

The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...

, Genista

Genista

Genista is a genus of legumes which includes many species of broom. Many of these brooms are notorious as noxious weeds.Species include:*Genista aetnensis - Mount Etna broom*Genista anglica - petty whin, needle furze*Genista canariensis...

, Acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

, Salvia

Salvia

Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...

, Phlomis

Phlomis

Phlomis is a genus of about 100 species of herbaceous plants, subshrubs and shrubs in the family Lamiaceae, native from the Mediterranean region east across central Asia to China. Common names include Jerusalem Sage and Lampwick Plant....

, Rosa

Rose

A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

, 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...

, Yucca

Yucca

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...

, Iris

Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...

, Pelargonium

Pelargonium

Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants which includes about 200 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly known as scented geraniums or storksbills. Confusingly, Geranium is the correct botanical name of a separate genus of related plants often called Cranesbills. Both Geranium...

, Opuntia

Opuntia

Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...

, Stipa

Stipa

This article is about a type of grass.For Speech Transmission Index for Public Address Systems, see Speech transmission index.For the Italian aircraft designer, see Luigi Stipa...

, Teucrium

Teucrium

Teucrium is a genus of perennial plants, of the family Lamiaceae. Common names for this genus include germanders. These species are herbs, shrubs or subshrubs...

, Astragalus

Astragalus

Astragalus is a large genus of about 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

, and Cistus

Cistus

Cistus is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species . They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal through to the Middle East, and also on the Canary Islands...

. It is organized into areas representing zones of Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

from around the world, including South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, the Near East

Near East

The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...

, and the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

, as well as Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, 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...

.

Of particular note are its collections of agave

Agave

Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....

s, Cupressaceae

Cupressaceae

The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...

, and sages. Protected plants include Allium chamaemoly, Allium trifoliatum, Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, Anagallis tenella
Anagallis tenella
Anagallis tenella known in Britain as the Bog Pimpernel, is a low growing, perennial plant found in a variety of damp habitats from calcareous dune slacks to boggy and peaty heaths in Eurasia but absent from North America...

, Anemone coronaria
Anemone coronaria
Anemone coronaria is a species of flowering plant in the genus Anemone, native to the Mediterranean region.-Description:...

, Carex grioletii, Centaurea pseudocaerulescens, Ceratonia siliqua, Chamaerops humilis, Cneorum tricoccon, Coronilla valentina, Cyrtomium fortunei, Drimia maritima, Heteropogon contortum, Lavatera maritima, Leucojum nicaeense, Limonium cordatum, Lotus tetragonolobus
Lotus tetragonolobus
Lotus tetragonolobus is an annual herb native to the warm temperate regions of the Old World. It is low growing, and produces a profusion of prominent deep red flowers, followed by seed pods that are longitudinally winged....

, Ophrys bertolonii
Ophrys bertolonii
Ophrys bertolonii, commonly known as Bertoloni's Bee Orchid, is a species of orchid native to the central Mediterranean....

, Papaver pinnatifidum, Picris altissima, Polystichum setiferum
Polystichum setiferum
Polystichum setiferum is an evergreen or semi-evergreen fern native to southern and western Europe.-Distribution:...

, Posidonia oceanica
Posidonia oceanica
Posidonia oceanica is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free floating and known in Italy as 'the olive of the sea'...

, Pteris cretica, Romulea columnae, Scilla hyacinthoides
Scilla hyacinthoides
Scilla hyacinthoides is a geophyte, native to the Middle East, though it was also brought to France by the Turks. Currently this plant is in the process of domestication as a cut flower in Israel due to its inflorescences....

, Stipa capensis
Stipa capensis
Stipa capensis is an annual grass from family Poaceae.In Persian it is called Bahman and is probably the same plant which was used in the Persian festivity of Bahmanagān....

, Symphytum bulbosum, Tulipa clusiana
Tulipa clusiana
The Lady Tulip is a species of tulip. The plant grows to a height of 6 to 12 in . It flowers during the spring season....

, and Vitex agnus-castus
Vitex agnus-castus
Vitex agnus-castus, also called Vitex, Chaste Tree, Chasteberry, Abraham's Balm or Monk's Pepper, is a native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of Vitex, which is on the whole a genus of tropical and sub-tropical flowering plants...

.

The garden also contains a herbarium

Herbarium

In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...

of some 6,000 species, with particular strength in phanerogams of the Mediterranean region and other Mediterranean climates, including Salvia