The magnolia is the world's oldest flowering plant, and Nantes boasts one of the oldest magnolias in Europe.

Planted in the Jardin des Plantes (botanical garden) in 1807, the “Hectot Magnolia” still blooms every year! Forty feet tall and 10 feet in circumference, this is the most famous of the 331 varieties in this magnificent national collection. Magnolias reflect the city’s transatlantic trade: as the first plants arrived from Mississippi in 1711.