Botanical Conservatory National Mediterranean De Porquerolles

Hyères, France, France

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The Conservatoire botanique national méditerranéen de Porquerolles (National Mediterranean Botanical Conservatory of Porquerolles) is a 180-hectare national botanical conservatory located on the island of Porquerolles in the Îles d'Hyères off Hyères in the Var department of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, within the Parc National de Port-Cros.

Founded in 1979 and designated as a national botanical conservatory in 1990, its missions include conserving plants, inventorying flora and habitats, maintaining census records of threatened species, and protecting endangered wild plants and Mediterranean fruit varieties in the French Mediterranean regions of Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, and the Côte d'Azur.

The conservatory manages 180 hectares of agricultural land with three vineyards and preserves exceptional collections of over 800 varieties of Mediterranean fruit trees, including more than 500 olive trees (over 300 varieties), 250 fig tree varieties, 60 mulberry varieties, over 200 local peach varieties, 60 apricot varieties, and 22 almond tree varieties, serving as a vital gene reserve of heritage varieties that often no longer exist on the continent due to industrial farming.

It also conserves approximately 2,000 plant genes in its seed bank, with seeds of rare and threatened plants safely stored since 2001. The conservatory offers free individual visits to its collection orchards in the plain of Porquerolles, with guided tours available for groups by request, and is accessible all year round.