The Madeleine site has an exceptional position in the heart of difficult limestone terrain.
Around the welcome center, information panels show the botanical wonders of the area. Forest and scrubland- called “garrigue” - are important features of the landscape with evergreen Holm oak as well as white oak and Montpellier maple. The “garrigue” is a low growth forest of often aromatic Mediterranean shrubs: thyme, lavender, savory, cistus, soapwort, valerian, aphyllantes, scotch broom, sumac, juniper, boxwood, honeysuckle, and sarsaparilla. Many plants used to be used for medicine or fertilizer.
