The Jardins de Coursiana, also known as the Arboretum Coursiana, are 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 with an 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...

 (6 hectares) located in La Romieu

La Romieu

La Romieu is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.It is known for its magnificent Collégiale St. Pierre, a 14th century cloister with a tower.-Population:-References:*...

, Gers

Gers

The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...

, Midi-Pyrénées

Midi-Pyrénées

Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity...

, 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...

. They are open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.

The arboretum was created in 1974 by eminent French botanist Gilbert Cours-Darne. In 2000 its Tilia

Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...

 collection (more than 60 taxa

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

) was designated a national collection by the Conservatoire des collections végétales spécialisées (CCVS), in 2001 the garden of aromatic and medicinal plants was begun, and in 2005 the ensemble was designated a Jardin remarquable by the Minister of Culture.

Today the arboretum contains 700 species of trees and shrubs, including mature Quercus robur (200 years old), as well as Aesculus californica

Aesculus californica

Aesculus californica is a species of buckeye that is native [ |] to California and southwest Oregon [Jackson, County], and the only buckeye native to these states.-Description:...

, Alnus cresmatogyne, Davidia involucrata, Firmiana simplex

Firmiana simplex

Firmiana simplex, commonly known as the Chinese parasol tree or wutong is an ornamental plant or tree of the cacao, or chocolate, of the family Sterculiaceae of the order Malvales, native to Asia. It grows to a height of 12 m . It has alternate, deciduous leaves up to 30 cm across and small...

, Parrotia persica, Sassafras officinalis, Tilia americana

Tilia americana

Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...

nova, Tilia chemnoui, and Tilia henryana

Tilia henryana

Tilia henryana Szyszyl., commonly known as Henry's Lime, was introduced to the West from China by Ernest Wilson in 1901. The tree is native to the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, and Zhejiang in China ....

. The gardens also include an English garden, vegetable garden, and garden of aromatic and medicinal plants.