Jean Massart Botanical Garden

The botanical garden was established in 1922 by Professor Jean Massart, a botany professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Today, it is owned by the Brussels-Capital Region. In collaboration with Brussels Environment, the ULB develops an educational program for the general public and schools, while also conducting scientific research activities.

Our Collections

The living plant collections at the Jean Massart Botanical Garden are intended for scientific research, university education, and the dissemination of scientific knowledge to the general public. They contain around 2,000 plant species.

The medicinal plant garden is one of the richest in Belgium. The species are divided into 25 plots according to their active ingredients.

The evolution garden groups over 300 flowering plants by family and according to major evolutionary lines, from flowers with primitive characteristics (like the Magnolia) to the most recent forms (like the common daisy).

The cultivated plant collection displays domesticated plants alongside their wild relatives. In the orchard, various old varieties of apple trees, pear trees, plum trees, peach trees, and cherry trees are cultivated.

The arboretum includes a collection of exotic trees, primarily conifers.

The garden also includes a wetland area, managed as a nature reserve, which, like the rest of the garden, forms part of the Natura 2000 network. The yellow iris, giant horsetail, reeds, water mint, and many other plant species grow spontaneously along the springs and adjacent ponds of the Rouge-Cloître.