Botany School
This sector composed of two big unites of flowerbeds is located in the central part of the open-air garden.
The term "school of botany" illustrates the former conception of botanical gardens: gathering a great number of plants (2 500: mainly hardy herbaceous plants, hardy under our climate but also 800 annual plants) classified by order, family (135 families are represented), genus, species... what is called "systematic classification"
Linum narbonense
L.
The notion of plant family gathers a group of plants, which presents a great number of common characters at the morphological level (form, flowers, fruits and seeds arrangement and particularities). It is perfectly illustrated here. This classification shows also the evolving character of plants families: from the archaic Magnoliales, near from the "ancestral stock" to the Orchidales and Poales more recently appeared on Earth.
Glaucium flavum
Crantz
The botany school interests every kind of public, from the searcher looking for living material, the biology or pharmacy student to the novice visitor curious to discover the families of plants from the whole world and in the first place from France. It allows people awakening of species diversity and the necessity of its conservation.
Regularly putting forward a plant ("plant of the week") is the occasion for the public to discover its alimentary, medicinal, textile, ornamental interests of this plant.