Universitaire de Poitiers Botanical Garden

Mignaloux-Beauvoir, France, France

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

The garden is situated on the former domaine du Deffend, which was purchased by the state in 1962 and established as a regional plant heritage centre in 1996, and was officially named a botanical garden in 2005 with missions including conservation of regional plants through thematic gardens (fruits, vegetables, etc.), education and public awareness, supporting university research, and preserving the University of Poitiers' heritage collections including a 19th-century herbarium.

Today the garden contains two small forests covering 6 hectares, two ponds, an 19th-century farm, and a 17th-century dovecote, with 18 hectares dedicated to collections and 9 hectares for research. Its arboretum contains 90 oak taxa and a good collection of heritage apple trees, while other collections include local orchids, aquatic plants, medicinal plants, an orchard, vegetable garden, and a small greenhouse.

The property includes five main buildings totaling over 1,700 square meters: the 17th-century "Le château" (house) and three buildings that make up "La Ferme," which houses administration and the regional branch of the Conservatoire Botanique National Sud-Atlantique, the departmental Centre de Ressources, and collections of plant and animal biodiversity from the University.