The Arboretum municipal de Verrières-le-Buisson (1.5 hectares), more formally the Arboretum municipal de Verrières-le-Buisson, Réserve naturelle volontaire Roger de Vilmorin, Maison des Arbres et des Oiseaux, is a municipal 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...

 located at 1, voie de l'Aulne, Verrières-le-Buisson

Verrières-le-Buisson

Verrières-le-Buisson is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris, in the Essonne department just outside the inner ring of the Île-de-France.The commune borders the Bièvre River....

, Essonne

Essonne

Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...

, Île-de-France

Île-de-France (région)

Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....

, 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 weekends without charge.

The arboretum was established in 1910 as part of the Arboretum Vilmorin

Arboretum Vilmorin

The Arboretum Vilmorin is a private arboretum located at 2 rue d'Estienne d'Orves, Verrières-le-Buisson, Essonne, Île-de-France, France. It is open by appointment only...

, acquired in 1975 by the municipality, and is now tended by young people 14-25 years in age. It contains more than 200 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...

 of trees from the northern hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

, as well as several from the southern hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...

. The arboretum is organized as a wooded area, orchard

Orchard

An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...

, prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

, pond, and nursery.