Cèdre de Jussieu du Jardin des Plantes

Paris (5e arrondissement)

On the mound of the labyrinth, a cedar of Lebanon of more than twenty metres spreads its dark tiers above the spiralling paths: it is the doyen of the cedars of France, planted by the botanist Bernard de Jussieu in 1734 according to the Muséum, in 1735 according to the Société nationale d'horticulture. Its size is modest for its age, because the mound is an old medieval rubbish heap, the Butte Coypeau. The history is well established by the archives of the Muséum: a cedar planted in 1683 at the botanic garden of Chelsea, near London, produced seeds in 1732; the merchant Peter Collinson bought seedlings from them and gave two to Jussieu, who brought them back to Paris. The second was given to Trudaine, intendant of finances, who planted it at Montigny-Lencoup, in Brie, where a storm uprooted it in December 1935. Legend, for its part, relates that Jussieu, arriving at the Place Maubert, broke the pot and finished the journey with the two little cedars in his hat, going without water in order to water them; historians recall that the tale rests on a late testimony by the botanist Mérat and that the two seedlings travelled in a single pot, which does not prevent the Muséum from citing the anecdote. Famous from the 19th century, the tree has been engraved and painted in all the views of the Jardin, by Hilaire in 1794, by Giebele in 1804, and as far as a caricature of Victor Hugo as a cedar by Faustin in 1871. It is alive and has borne the Arbre remarquable de France label since 26 June 2017.

Wikipédia — Cèdre de Jussieu ↗

Getting there : Jardin des Plantes, free entry every day of the year, from dawn to dusk depending on the season; metro Jussieu, Gare d'Austerlitz or Censier-Daubenton. The cedar is on the slope of the labyrinth, halfway up beneath Buffon's gloriette, a few minutes from the Rue Cuvier entrance.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound