If seeing all of the Olympics coverage from Paris has you wishing you could hop on a transatlantic flight and experience the botanical wonders of France, you are in luck!
You can find many beautiful plants native to France right here in St. Louis at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Garden houses a large collection of plants native to France and southern Europe in general. See how many you can find during your next visit.
Did you know? You can locate a specific plant using the Garden’s Living Collections Management System (LCMS). Type the scientific name in the search bar, select the species, then the map tab.
round-headed leek (Allium sphaerocephalon)
Also commonly called drumstick allium, this ornamental bulb produces showy, purple pom-pom inflorescences in summer. It is native to rocky, open habitats from western Europe to the Caucasus.
Plant in groups among other perennials in mixed borders or rock gardens. They make excellent fresh cut or dried flowers.
Find it at the Garden: Find round-headed leeks blooming in the Samuels Bulb Garden.
Montpellier maple (Acer monspessulanum)
Named for Montpellier, a city in southern France on the Mediterranean coast, this compact tree can reach up to 30′ tall with an equally wide, rounded, densely branched canopy.
Find it at the Garden: Look at the top of the waterfall in the Japanese Garden to spot a Montpellier maple.
French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus ‘Sativa’)
This selection of wild tarragon is commonly used as a culinary herb. Its aromatic leaves have a slightly sweet, licorice or anise-like flavor with additional notes of herbal freshness and peppery spice.
It is a perennial subshrub with spreading rhizomes that can be grown successfully in sunny, St. Louis herb gardens as long as the soil is very well-draining.
Find it at the Garden: Find French tarragon growing in the Herb Garden behind Tower Grove House.
Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Scotch pine is a medium-to-large pine species native to northern Eurasia including France where it is grown both ornamentally and commercially for timber harvest.
It has a picturesque, cone-shaped to rounded crown with showy, exfoliating reddish-orange bark. In the U.S. it is a popular Christmas tree.
Find it at the Garden: Many Scotch pines can be found growing throughout the Japanese Garden.
moss stonecrop (Sedum acre)
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Moss stonecrop is a good ground cover plant for sunny areas of the garden with rocky or shallow soil. This perennial sedum only reaches 3″ tall, but will spread readily with the proper growing conditions.
Find it at the Garden: Look for this plant growing at the edge of the main path by the tram pickup location just outside of the Kemper Center for Home Gardening.
Justine Kendra | Horticulturist with the William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening
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