The Jardin exotique du Fort Napoléon 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 succulents. It is located on the grounds of Fort Napoléon

Fort Napoléon des Saintes

Fort Napoléon is located on Terre-de-Haut Island, in the Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe. Built on the morne called Mire, it was originally named Fort Louis. It was destroyed by British forces in 1809. It was rebuilt in 1867, and named after Napoleon III, but never saw use in battle, and was...

 at 120 meters altitude above Terre-de-Haut

Terre-de-Haut

Terre-de-Haut is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, on Terre-de-Haut Island. It is the most populous island of the archipelago of the Îles des Saintes. The Fort Napoléon des Saintes is located in this commune....

, Îles des Saintes

Îles des Saintes

The Îles des Saintes , also called simply Les Saintes , is a small archipelago of French Antilles located in the South of Basse-Terre Island, on the West of Marie-Galante and in the North of Dominica in the arc of Lesser Antilles...

, and is open daily.

Fort Napoléon was first erected in 1777 as Fort Louis, destroyed by the British in 1809, rebuilt from 1844, and given its present name during the reign of Napoleon III of France

Napoleon III of France

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...

. Today's exotic garden was created in 1984 and paired with the Jardin Exotique de Monaco

Jardin Exotique de Monaco

The Jardin Exotique de Monaco is a botanical garden located on a cliffside in Monaco.-History and features:...

 in 1986, with whom it began plant exchanges in 1987.

Today the garden contains a good collection of local plants and other succulents including Agavaceae

Agavaceae

Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Joshua tree...

, Cactaceae, succulent Euphorbia, and Liliaceae

Liliaceae

The Liliaceae, or the lily family, is a family of monocotyledons in the order Liliales. Plants in this family have linear leaves, mostly with parallel veins but with several having net venation , and flower arranged in threes. Several have bulbs, while others have rhizomes...

. Of particular interest are its collections of rare and endangered Cactaceae, including Mammillaria nivosa, Melocactus intortus, Opuntia dillenii, Opuntia rubescens, Opuntia triacantha, Opuntia tuna, Pereskia aculeata

Pereskia aculeata

Pereskia aculeata is a scrambling shrub in the family Cactaceae. Common names include Barbados gooseberry and leaf cactus. It is native to tropical America.-Description:...

, Pilosocereus nobilis, and Selenicereus grandiflorus

Selenicereus grandiflorus

Selenicereus grandiflorus is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as Nightblooming Cereus, Queen of the Night , Large-flowered Cactus, Sweet-Scented Cactus or Vanilla Cactus. The true species is extremely rare in cultivation...

.