Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. It is on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares (280,000 m²).
There is a school there that trains people to be botanists respecting biodiversity. There is a zoo in the Jardin that was started during the French Revolution from the animals at Versailles. The garden was started in 1626. It was used in 1640 to grow medicinal herbs for the king. Among directors, Comte de Buffon expanded it greatly. Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, Chair of Botany, changed its name from Jardin du Roi to Jardin des Plantes during the French Revolution. It helped not to have the name linked to the king.
Gallery
Plan of the Jardin des Plantes from 1820
A fruiting tree of oranges
Jardin Des Plantes Media
Vue cavalière du Jardin du Roi (entre la future rue du Jardin du Roy, actuellement rue Geoffroy St-Hilaire, et le canal des Victorins, disparu depuis longtemps). Aquarelle sur vélin peinte par Frédéric Scalberge en 1636.
Statue of Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in the formal garden
The Sophora Jussieu, planted by Buffon in the garden in 1747
The Jardin des Plantes and Menagerie in 1842
Crowd outside the Palace of the Apes (c. 1900)
Rachel the elephant (c. 1905)
Courtyard of the Grand Gallery of Evolution
Parade of species in the Grand Gallery of Evolution
Reconstitution of a Dodo bird in section on endangered and disappeared species
Other websites
- Official site Archived 2013-11-26 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
