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LSU Herbarium Guide to Parks, Gardens, and Ecotourism
**Disclaimer**
These locations and organizations
were selected as potentially interesting to botanists and
those who enjoy plants and natural sites in Louisiana. We
are not promoting or are otherwise afflitated with these organizations,
nor do we necessarily support any of their causes or actions.
Collection of plants is not allowed without permission/permits
on any site. Please get outside and enjoy our beautiful state!
This all-girls institution was founded in 1821 and is the
second oldest west of the Mississippi. It has formal gardens
and a magnificent oak alley that are open for tours, along
with the Shrine of Saint John Berchmans and buildings of some
older sections of the school.
The Nature Station is a 110 acre facility with a 3+ mile
trail system with hiking operated by the Lafayette Consolidated
Government. They also offer field trips, guided tours, workshops,
and other educational activities for kids and adults. The
park is at the juncture of two major ecological systems, the
Gulf Tall Grass Prairie (remnants) and the Mississippi River
Floodplain. Within the floodplain itself, the better drained
escarpment has winged elm, water oak, pecan, easter red cedar,
French mulberry, blackberry, and red buckeye. The more poorly
drained floodplain below, typical of the lower gulf coast
plain, include water hickory, baldcypress, sycamore, green
ash, hackberry, American elm, sweetgum, honeylocust, live
oak, dwarf palmetto, dewberry, deciduous holly, and water
elm.
Afton Villa is a formal southern garden on the National
Register of Historic Places and was founded in 1849. It is
an example of antebellum landscape architecture and its 140
acres include parterre gardens, live oak alleys, a cemetary,
sundial, obelisk, pond, and lake. They are also known for
their azaleas, particularly their own strain called "Pride
of Afton" or "Afton Villa Red".
Alligator Bayou provides guided swamp boat tours, canoe
rentals, and cottages for overnight stays. Tour swamps with
alligators, egrets, herons, and other animals in a old-growth
cypress swamp habitat rich with native plant biodiversity,
including many submerged aquatic species. Located in the Spanish
Lake Basin.
The American Rose Society's garden is America's largest
park dedicated to roses, with over 20,000 colorful and fragrant
varieties on 42 acres! There are winding paths that take your
through the garden's varied selection, including exotic hybrids,
antique roses, miniture roses, single petal roses, thornless
roses, etc. There is a "What's New" garden and an
"All-American Rose Selections" garden. Open April
through October. Tours and free wheelchairs are available
upon request.
This facility emphasizes an interactive experience between
the visitor and nature. There are 86 acres of bottomland hardwood
forest with hiking trails and a handicap-accessible boardwalk
trail. Trail guides, audio guides, and Naturalist Packs are
available. Additionally, there is a Butterfly/Hummingbird
Garden with free flying butterflies and a wide array of plants
for landscaping ideas. The Botany Center and greenhouse display
some of Louisiana's native plants.
A more traditional zoo with a blend of the exotic animals
from around the globe with the serenity of lush gardens. Innovative
natural habitat exhibits and an animal collection ranging
from the unique and extraordinary white alligators to the
majestic Bengal Tigers.
Home of TABASCO® Sauce founded by the McIlhenny family.
Tour the factory and then see the southern Louisiana marshes
and bayous and nature preserve inhabited by indigenous plants
and animals. Walk through the 200-acre Jungle Gardens and
see, in season, a variety of azaleas, camellias and bamboo.
A variety of wildlife, including alligators, deer, nutria,
raccoons, and migratory birds live in the hills and marshes
around the gardens. An excellent area for birding as well,
nicknamed "Bird City", and noted for egret preservation.
This is a combined garden and art center. There is a 7,850
square-foot, domed botanical conservatory dominated by tropical
plants. Seasonal and native plantings are also featured. A
fragrance garden, especially for the visually impaired, includes
a variety of plants easily identifiable by smell and by touch.
Freshwater and brackish marshes, bottomland hardwood forests,
lagoons, canals, borrow pits, chenieres (former beach fronts),
and natural bayous harbor a wide array of native plant biodiversity.
The marshes along Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne serve as
estuarine nurseries for various fish species, crabs, and shrimp.
There are 340 bird species during various seasons of the year,
including brown pelicans and bald eagles.
A parterre garden is located at the Beauregard-Keyes House
in the middle of the French Quarter, listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. The house was built in 1826.
The garden is replanted with plants popular in New Orleans
from the 1830s to the 1860's, including magnolias and boxwoods.
The house and gardens are open for visitors and guided tours
are available.
Large formal garden situated within the Biedenharn Museum,
along with a Bible Museum and other special exhibits.
Big
Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Lacombe
The refuge has unique botanical zones that contain diverse
combinations of native plant communities, ranging from sandy
beach, brackish marsh, to upland zones with pine and hardwoods.
It also has a hiking and biking trail, a nature boardwalk,
and a canoe launch into Cane Bayou.
BREC's newest nature park features 63 acres of land along
the Comite River with two large fishing lakes and plantings
of over 7,000 trees, including bald cypress, tupelo gum, cottonwood,
river birch, red mulberry, persimmon, pine and oaks.
There are 101 acres in total with nearly pristine cypress-tupelo
swamp and magnolia-beech upland hardwood forest. A series
of trails and boardwalks allows for easy access and viewing
of the site, and the boardwalk portions are handicap-accessible.
The Nature Center Building has several exhibits dedicated
to conservation and education of native plants and animals.
They are also very active in bird watching and education outreach,
offering many excellent programs for kids and adults.
BREC's Independence Park has public gardens that are free
and open to the public that are dedicated to horticultural
education, recreation, and nature studies. Maintained mostly
by volunteer efforts, it includes a Rose Garden, Crepe Myrtle
Garden, Sensory Garden, Children's Forest, and the Louisiana
Iris Garden. The garden also provides hands-on gardening activities
for children.
BREC Parks,
East Baton Rouge Parish
Includes Baton Rouge Beach and Zoo, Blackwater Conservation,
Bluebonnet Swamp, Botanic Gardens, Camping Facilities, Cohn
Arboretum, and Highland Observatory.
Likely the most complete botanical and wildlife sanctuary
in Louisiana. Caroline Dorman's legacy as a plant conservationist,
teacher, and horticulturist live on at Briarwood, a spectacular
preserve of old growth forest where Dorman saved and propagated
many native plants, including Louisiana's famous irises. The
history of Briarwood, including her living quarters, how she
helped establish Kisatchie National Forest, her art work,
her research on indigenous peoples, and her other conservation
efforts, are also preserved and documented at the site. A
mecca for all conservation biologists. Open on weekends in
the summertime. Tours can be prearranged.
The Burden Center of Louisiana State University has 420
acres with a focus on horticultural research projects relating
to vegetables, fruits, ornamentals, and turfgrass. There are
formal gardens and plant collections, the Ione Burden Conference
Center, the Steele Burden Memorial Orangerie, and the All-America
rose display garden. 150 acres of the land is preserved as
bottomland hardwood forest.
The Windrush Gardens are adjacent the Rural
Life Museum and consist of 25 acres of semiformal gardens
with winding paths, lakes, and open areas that represent flora
used in 19th century plantation gardens.
This 44 acre plantation complex has one of the few extant
examples of antebellum garden design in West Feliciana Parish.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.The
grounds include English and French stylistic features, a sundial,
a summer house, a garden gate and urns, a geometric parterre,
an ornamental garden, and sunken side gardens.
This non-profit conservation organization is dedicated to
the restoration and preservation of prairie habitat throughout
Louisiana. They are active in education, outreach, and research.
The members of the society have regular tours, plant viewings,
hosts speakers, and conducts restoration projects, land aquisitions,
and social events.
Expansive area of fresh- and brackish marsh harbor a high
diversity of marsh and aquatic plants, such as water lilies,
pond lily, spider lilies, marsh mallow, deer pea, sedges,
rushes, sawgrass, cordgrass, etc. Abundant migratory birds
and fresh marsh are the dominant features of the area, with
over 45,000 ducks and 10,000 geese at peak populations during
the winter months. Provides excellent habitat for native wildlife
including alligators, furbearers, and white-tailed deer.
This 16 acre facility is used for the study of plants and
floras from other areas of the world. The arboretum houses
several major plant collections including a Japanese Maple
collection, and Orchid and Bromeliad House, a Tropical House,
a Camellia Collection, an Evergreen and Conifer Collection,
a Crepe Myrtle Collection, and an Herb/Fragrance Garden. Paved
and unpaved trails traverse the arboretum. The paved trails
are handicap-accessible. Pamphlets, self-guided tours, and
guided tours (by advanced request) are also available.
The Creole Nature Trail (including LA 27 and LA 82) was
designated the first National Scenic Byway in the Gulf South
and the only one to be name solely based on its natural qualities.
Highlights of this route includes four National Wildlife Refuges
(Cameron Prairie, Lacassine, Sabine, and Rockefeller), fresh,
brackish, and salt marshes, and beautiful beaches (Holly and
Rutherford Beaches). A gradation of highly diverse and distinctive
plant life follows the gradient from beach to inland marsh
to prairie, which in turn supports an amazing amount of animal
life. This trail is known to be one of the top ten birding
areas in the U.S., with more than 250 species recorded. Recently,
the Federal Highway Administration elevated its status to
an "All-American Road", one of twenty in the United
States. This area has also been called "Louisiana's Outback"
for its wild and rugged terrain and unique biotic composition.
This State Park, on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain,
has trails, camping, and picnic areas. The Tammany Trace cycling
path also runs through the park. The park's nature trail has
interpretive signs identifying common trees and shrubs. The
park is also bordered by Bayou Cane and Bayou Castine and
is characterized by a several diverse ecosystems including
marsh, open fields, lake shore, and pine and mixed hardwood
forests. Over 400 different species of birds and animals also
inhabit the park.
Gallier
House, French Quarter, New Orleans
The Gallier House is a National Historic Landmark in the
French Quarter built in the mid-19th century. The elegent
post-Civil War Victorian home has a detailed garden, carriageway,
and restored slave quarters.
Grand Isle State Park is located at the tip Grand Isle and
is the most popular barrier island off the coast of Louisiana.
The beach ridge created by the wave action of the Gulf of
Mexico harbors distinctive beach dune plant species. Grand
Isle serves as a breakwater between the Gulf of Mexico and
the network of inland channels that connect to the bayou tributaries
of the Mississippi River. The state park offers camping and
fishing.
Louisiana State University's Hilltop Arboretum provides
an extensive collection of cultivated Louisiana trees and
shrubs on 14 acres with winding paths. Hilltop is primarily
used as a teaching tool and a model for natural landscape
for landscape architecture students, providing for beautiful
surroundings that are ecologically sound. The intent is that
the students efforts at Hilltop through education, research,
and outreach will have a lasting impact on the community.
This private campground and wilderness area founded by conservationist
A. J. Hodges has an extensive 40 cultivated garden and 7 hiking
trails through heavily timbered pine forest. Cars can drive
through an arboretum area. Additionally, fishing, biking,
picnicking, horseback riding, and RVs are permitted. Open
all year.
Honey Island Swamp is about 250 square miles (70,000 acres)
of permanently protected wildlife area and the Nature Conservancy's
first Louisiana nature preserve. It is a tract of bottomland
lying between the East Pearl and West Pearl Rivers with unique
plant and animal life. Honey Island Swamp Tours offers guided
tours from tour boats. Wetlands and cypress swamp can be found
in the area, which is close to the Louisiana-Mississippi state
line.
BREC's Independence Park has public gardens that are free
and open to the public that are dedicated to horticultural
education, recreation, and nature studies. Maintained mostly
by volunteer efforts, it includes a Rose Garden, Crepe Myrtle
Garden, Sensory Garden, Children's Forest, and the Louisiana
Iris Garden. The garden also provides hands-on gardening activities
for children.
The INHC is a conservatory and large greenhouse and headhouse
complex dedicated to education and community outreach. It
contains classrooms, laboratories, a library, herbarium, offices,
and workshops. A 20 acre plot is devoted to research projects.
A large collection of tropical plants and display beds are
available for touring, including orchids, bromeliads, aroids,
succulents, poinsettias, amaryllis, bananas, crotons, staghorn
ferns, cacoa, and papaya.
Although Jean Lafitte is comprised of six separate units
across the state, the Barataria Preserve in Marrero is of
most interest to botanists. It emcompasses approximately 20,000
acres of hardwood forest, cypress swamp, and fresh water marsh.
Boardwalk or hard-surfaced trails and over 20 miles of waterways
allow exploration along with a visitors center. Plant biodiversity
is high, ranging from live oaks and palmettos on natural levees
to baldcypress on lower ground in swamps down to treeless
marsh. On the marshy east side of the preserve lies one of
the largest expanses of floating freshwater marsh in the world.
The only National Forest in Louisiana, its 600,000 acres
are divided into 5 distinct units across 7 parishes: Caney,
Calcasieu, Winn, Catahoula, and Kisatchie Districts. The KNF
harbor many different ecosystem types and consequently have
a rich plant biodiversity. Some more interesting features
that harbor many rare plant species include hillside seeps,
pitcher plant bogs, longleaf pine savanna, calcareous prairie
openings, mixed hardwood forests, bottomland swamps, deep
sandy sites, rock outcrops, and many others. Camping, trails,
and other outdoor activities are found in abundance in KNF.
The Lacassine NWR is nearly 35,000 acres, most of which
is freshwater marsh habitat and includes a 16,000 acre pool
or impoundment. Vegetative types vary depending on frequency,
depth, and length of time water covers the area. Plants that
can be found include bulltongue, maidencane, watershield,
waterlily, spikerush, southern bullrush, with scattered black
willow, Chinese tallow tree, and cypress. Natural marsh habitat
predominates. The area is a popular bird watching site and
a nature drive, foot trails, and observation towers are available
year-round.
See also City
of St. Martinville website and the Acadian
Memorial website for information on Acadian ("cajun")
and creole history and attractions
This is very important historical site for the memorial
of the exiles of Acadiana or "cajuns" for short,
who fled from Canada to Louisiana in the 1750's. This site
also has high botanical and literary significance. In 1847,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow released the epic poem "Evangeline"
that features the Acadian couple Evangeline and Gabriel who
are separated on their wedding day when forced into exile
out of their homeland. They separate and flee to Louisiana,
and in what is believed to be present-day St. Martinville
Evangeline finds Gabriel's father and searches for Gabriel
but never finds him. After many years of searching she enters
a convent. Much later in life, in Philadelphia, she finds
Gabriel on his deathbed, thankful that she saw him one last
time. This very tragic poem became the stuff of literary legend
by the end of the 19th century and St. Martinville established
a small park, Evangeline Oak Park, and designated one of the
trees as the "Evangeline Oak". The large oak is
on the bank of Bayou Teche and is known as a "sacred
relic" of Longfellow's poem and Acadian exile.
A large traditional zoo with gardens covering over 80 acres,
for kids and adults. Tours, group tours, and educational opportunities
are available.
Our state arboretum is more than 300 acres of mature beech-magnolia
forest with additional plantings of species indigenous to
the state. Many of the plants are labeled and easily accessible,
making this and educational tool and a living museum. Almost
every vegetation type in the state, except coastal marsh and
prairie, is represented. Several miles of trails and bridges
traverse the site, which is a network of hills, ravines, and
creeks. Tours are offered on weekends and by prior arrangement.
This is the home page for all 18 Louisiana State Parks,
many of which are featured individually on this page.
This formal garden features beautifully manicured lawns
with planted live oaks, magnolias, camellias, azaleas, roses,
sweet olives, crape myrtles, and oleanders as permanent plantings.
Planned events, such as teas and childrens events, are offered.
TNC's is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote
conservation and to preserve the imperiled plants, animals
and natural communities. TNC picks properties that represent
the high levels of rarity and endemism and purchase those
properties. Properties are maintained by stewardship and volunteerism.
Currently, TNC owns 18 properties across the state that are
open for sightseeing, all of which are amazing and breathtaking.
TNC actively fosters education and volunteering opportunities.
The NOBG opened in 1936 and began as a Works Progress Administration
(WPA) project during the Great Depression, and it is one one
the few remaining examples of public garden design from the
WPA and the Art Deco period. Today the garden contains plants
from all over the world set amongst the nation's largest stand
of mature live oaks. There is a an aquatic garden, ornamental
shrubs and trees, perennial garden, and a conservatory. The
garden is wheelchair accessible.
Also known as "St. Tammany's Secret Garden", this
non-profit organization leases land that features 800 acres
of hardwood forest, pine-hardwood forest, and cypress swamp
that is bounded on the west by Bayou Castine. Boardwalks,
hiking trails, and interpretive signs make this site into
an excellent educational experience. An outdoor classroom
and an open-air pavilion are available.
This 25 acre plantation is a National Historic Landmark
on River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rogue. It has
a 1/4 mile canopy or "alley" of giant live oak trees
believe to be nearly 300 years old. The trees lead to a Greek-revival
style antebellum mansion built in 1839. Guided tours, a restaurant,
and bed and breakfast accommodations are available.
Oakley
House, Audubon State Memorial Park, St. Francisville
Oakley House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
It is a 17 room, three-story plantation where John James Audubon
stayed and painted in the early 1820's. There he tutored the
children and when not occupied roamed the woods and worked
on his naturalistic ornithological paintings, several of which
hang in the home. Many of his observations, painting, etc.
would later be tranformed into his famous "Birds of America".
The home has been restored to the Federal period style (1790-1830),
as it was when Audubon stayed there. The plantation has extensive
and beautiful landscaped grounds that are shaded by live oak
and crepe myrtle trees. Hiking trails traverse the grounds.
A "must see" for its artistic, historic, and scientific
importance.
Rosedown Plantation, a State Historic Site, began as a cotton
plantation in the 1820's and at its largest was 3,455 acres.
The main house and formal gardens began construction in 1834.
Records showing the purchase of camelias, azaleas, and other
plants from New York date back to 1836. The gardens cover
about 28 acres. Even though the gardens suffered after the
Civil War and subsequent hard times, they were fully restored
in the 1950's from the original owner's extensive diaries,
and when possible the same species were replanted or repropagated
from the garden itself. The gardens, as well as the house,
were returned to their pre-1860 state. Guided tours are available.
The Sabine NWR comprises about 40,000 acres of open water
interspersed with about 85,000 acres of fresh, intermediate,
and brackish marsh and grassland. The high level of plant
biodiversity supports a wide variety of birds and other animals,
and this is an excellent site for birding and spotting alligators.
There is a 1.5 mile raised marsh trail or "Wetland Walkway"
with an observation tower, a visitor's center with interpretive
displays, boat launches, canoeing and kayaking, and ample
wildlife observation opportunities for photography buffs.
Shadows-on-the-Teche is a plantation and a National Trust
Historic Site with an elaborately landscaped garden planted
with live oak, azaleas, and camellias. This is one of the
most photographed properties in the South. Paintings of the
house go back to the Civil War. These are used to maintain
the house and grounds to their original state. The original
gardens were divided into "rooms" with a square
garden, a round garden, and a "naturalistic garden".
The Tammany Trace is the first of hopefully many "Rails-to-Trails"
conversions in Louisiana. It is a scenic 31-mile recreation
corridor for bicycles, equestrians, pedestrians, joggers,
and rollerbladers and links the cities of Covington, Abita
Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe, and Slidell. It also serves
as a wildlife conservation corridor, links isolated nature
parks, creates greenways, and helps to preserve historic landmarks
and wetlands. You can observe the natural habitat, bayous,
streams and rivers from the vantage point of 31 bridges built
on the original railroad trestles.
Tickfaw S.P. contains over a mile of boardwalks and extensive
hiking trails through richly diverse cypress/tupelo swamp,
bottomland hardwood forest, mixed pine/hardwood forest, and
the backwater swamps and sloughs of the Tickfaw River. There
are schedules guided hikes on the boardwalks, nature program
presentation at education pavilions, and an outdoor amphitheater
at the nature center. Additionally, there is a nighttime program
and night hiking. Bicycles and skates are allowed on park
roadways. Canoe and cabin rentals are available.
This 5,225 acre WMA is owned by the Louisiana Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries and is composed of two tracts: The
Angola tract (2245 acres) and the South Tract (2980 acres).
The area is unique in Louisiana because it lies at the southern
end of the "Loess Blufflands" escarpment that follows
the east bank of the Mississippi River south from its confluence
with the Ohio River. Consequently, the floristic composition
here is diverse and at least 20 rare species are found in
this area. The forest type is "upland hardwood",
and some plants found here are American beech, American holly,
flowering magnolia, cherrybark oak, eastern hophornbeam, oak
leaf hydrangea, two-winged silverbell, trifoliate orange,
pawpaw, sweatleaf, and spicebush. Hiking along a nature trail,
birdwatching, and horseback riding are permitted.
The Wildlife Gardens offers swamp tours, a 1 1/2 hour walking
tour, an alligator farm, and bed and breakfast accomodations.
There is also a twilight swamp tour by boat when you cruise
into natural cypress swamps and tidal marshes. You can view
an abundance of local wildlife and plants in a natural swamp
setting and walk 30 acres of nature trails.
Zemurray Gardens is on the National Register of Historic
Places and began operation as a formal garden in 1922. It
features its famous trail of azaleas along with magnolias,
cypresses, poplars, gums, oaks, camellias, irises, daffodils,
dogwoods, honeysuckles, etc., along with cast bronze statues
and founts. The garden is alsoof architectural significance,
where the lodge complex that was designed in the Arts and
Crafts style of the early 1900's is unique to the Florida
Parishes.
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