Arboretum de Chèvreloup
| Arboretum de Chèvreloup | |
Garden
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| Location | Rocquencourt, France |
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| Type | arboretum |
| Muséum national d'histoire naturelle network | |
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The Arboretum de Chèvreloup (195 hectares) is a major arboretum located just north of the Palace of Versailles at 30, route de Versailles, Rocquencourt, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. It forms part of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, and is open several days per week in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.
The site dates to 1699 when Louis XIV acquired the hamlet of Chèvreloup, demolishing its walls to form a hunting ground near his castle. During the 18th century, botanist Bernard de Jussieu (1699–1777) was a frequent visitor at Versailles, where in 1759 he created a botanical garden at the edge of Chèvreloup in today's Parc de Trianon; this garden was destroyed, however, upon the death of Louis XV. During the French Revolution, Chèvreloup was sold to private owners, then purchased by Napoleon in 1806. In the 19th century it became apparent that the Jardin des Plantes in Paris was too small for a national collection, and in 1922 the conservator of the Estate of Versailles and architect François-Benjamin Chaussemiche (1864–1945) established today's arboretum as the Jardin de Jussieu, annex to the National Museum of Natural History. In 1940, however, it was abandoned. Planting resumed in 1960, with parts of the arboretum opening to the public in 1977.
Today the arboretum contains about 15,000 specimens, representing 124 families, 220 genera, 2700 species and varieties, and 500 cultivars. Its tropical plant collection alone maintains about 5,000 species in greenhouses. The arboretum proper is organized into three major sections:
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