Jardin botanique universitaire de Poitiers

The Jardin botanique universitaire de Poitiers (33 hectares) is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Poitiers. It is located at 443 Route du deffend, Mignaloux-Beauvoir, Vienne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, and open daily without charge.

The garden is located on the former domaine du Deffend, which was purchased by the state in 1962 and in 1996 established as a regional plant heritage center. It was named a botanical garden in 2005 with the following missions:


 * conservation of regional plants by developing thematic gardens (fruits, vegetables, etc.)
 * education and public awareness
 * supporting university research
 * preservation of heritage collections of the University of Poitiers, including a herbarium dating to the nineteenth century,

Today the garden contains two small forests (6 hectares), two ponds, a farm dating to the nineteenth century, and a 17th-century dovecote. Its arboretum contains 90 oak taxa, as well as a good collection of heritage apple trees. Other collections include local orchids, aquatic plants, and medicinal plants.