The Orto Botanico di Montemarcello 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 within the Parco Naturale Regionale di Montemarcello-Magra, near Ameglia

Ameglia

Ameglia is a comune in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 90 km southeast of Genoa and about 11 km southeast of La Spezia.Ameglia borders the following municipalities: Lerici, Sarzana....

, Province of La Spezia

Province of La Spezia

The Province of La Spezia is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of La Spezia.It has an area of 881 km², and a total population of 223,606 inhabitants...

, Liguria

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

, 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...

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The garden stands atop Mount Murlo (365 m) within the Caprione promontory, hills dividing the gulf of La Spezia from the Magra river plain. It contains plants indigenous to the region, including Arbutus unedo, Phillyrea latifolia, Pinus halepensis, Pistacia 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:...

, Quercus cerris, Quercus ilex, Quercus pubescens, as well as Psoralea bituminosa, Ruta angustifolia, and Thymus vulgaris

Thymus vulgaris

Thymus vulgaris or common thyme is a low growing herbaceous plant, sometimes becoming somewhat woody. It is native to southern Europe, where it is often cultivated as a culinary herb....

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