Arboretum de la Petite Loiterie
Encyclopedia
The Arboretum de la Petite Loiterie (16 hectares) is a young arboretum
located in Le Sentier, Monthodon
, Indre-et-Loire
, Centre, France
. It is open a few days per month; an admission fee is charged.
The arboretum was conceived in 1980 with its first trees planted in 1995; it opened to the public in 2003 and active planting continues. It is unusual in conception and layout, as it focuses on trees and bushes that can readily be found in commercial nurseries (rather than rare species), and it organizes specimens to collocate species with similar leaves, thus highlighting their similarities and differences.
Today the arboretum contains more than 2,000 species
and cultivar
s of woody plants, planted within a site that also contains 3.5 hectares of meadow
, 4 hectares of woods, wetlands, and a pond (3800 m²). Of particular interest are the arboretum's 2 kilometers of hedge
s, composed of a variety of species.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
located in Le Sentier, Monthodon
Monthodon
Monthodon is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France....
, Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, Centre, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is open a few days per month; an admission fee is charged.
The arboretum was conceived in 1980 with its first trees planted in 1995; it opened to the public in 2003 and active planting continues. It is unusual in conception and layout, as it focuses on trees and bushes that can readily be found in commercial nurseries (rather than rare species), and it organizes specimens to collocate species with similar leaves, thus highlighting their similarities and differences.
Today the arboretum contains more than 2,000 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s of woody plants, planted within a site that also contains 3.5 hectares of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, 4 hectares of woods, wetlands, and a pond (3800 m²). Of particular interest are the arboretum's 2 kilometers of hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
s, composed of a variety of species.