Conservatoire botanique national de Mascarin

Saint-Leu, Réunion, France

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The Conservatoire botanique national de Mascarin, officially called CBN-CPIE Mascarin, is a French national botanical conservatory and environmental center located at 2 rue du Père Georges in the heights of Saint-Leu, Réunion, in the hills of western La Réunion.

It is housed within Mascarin, the Jardin Botanique de La Réunion, a 9-hectare botanical garden on an old Creole agricultural estate that was tied to the conservatory since 1987 and is now managed by Réunion's Departmental Council. The garden features nearly 4,000 plant species across eight collections spread over 9 hectares, including a Creole orchard (verger créole), palms, succulents and cacti, coffee plants (worldwide coffee collection), orchids and ferns, plants lontan (traditional Réunion plants), indigenous Réunion plants, and bamboo.

Mascarin has a dual mission of educating visitors about preserving natural environments and indigenous flora, and transmitting traditional Réunion cultural knowledge to the public. It is a cultural and tourist facility offering free visits (minimum 2 hours), three guided tours daily (11:00, 14:00, 15:00) focusing on different collections, temporary and permanent exhibitions, year-round public events, and school programs.