The Arboretum des Prés des Culands (2 hectares), also known as the Conservatoire national d’Ilex, is a private arboretum

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...

 specializing in Ilex (holly

Holly

Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....

) varieties. It is located at La Nivelle, Meung-sur-Loire

Meung-sur-Loire

Meung-sur-Loire is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.It was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire in 1429. In fiction, it has been referenced by Alexandre Dumas in The Three Musketeers as the village where d'Artagnan, en route to join the King's Musketeers in Paris,...

, Loiret

Loiret

Loiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...

, 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...

, and open by appointment; an admission fee is charged.

The arboretum was created in 1987 on marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

lands, and landscaped as many small islands interconnected by wooden bridges. By 1991 it contained about 150 Ilex plants and was designated a national collection by the Conservatoire des Collections Végétales Spécialisées (CCVS). It was subsequently recognized by the Holly Society of America

Holly Society of America

The Holly Society of America is a non-profit organization with a mission to stimulate interest, promote research, and collect and disseminate information about the genus Ilex . It is located at 309 Buck Street, Millville, New Jersey; despite its name, it represents members from around the world.The...

 in 1999, and in 2004 named a Jardin Remarquable by the French ministry of culture. In 2007 its astilbe

Astilbe

Astilbe is a genus of 18 species of perennial, herbaceous flowering plants, within the family Saxifragaceae. Some species are commonly known as False Goat's Beard, and False Spirea...

 collection merited a second CCVS designation.

Today the garden contains over 500 types of Ilex obtained from botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

s and arboretums around the world, including some 60 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...

, 150 hybrids, and 250 varieties. It also contains fine plantings of astilbe

Astilbe

Astilbe is a genus of 18 species of perennial, herbaceous flowering plants, within the family Saxifragaceae. Some species are commonly known as False Goat's Beard, and False Spirea...

, maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

s, bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

s, clematis

Clematis

Clematis is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners beginning with Clematis × jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly. They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese...

, dogwood

Dogwood

The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...

, and hydrangea

Hydrangea

Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...

, as well as conifers and aquatic plant

Aquatic plant

Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...

s.