Our Living Collection

A BGCI-accredited botanical garden, believed to be the only one in Europe dedicated to food trees of subtropical and Mediterranean climates, with a fully documented living collection.

This page gives you direct, free access to that collection: more than 330 species — over 500 distinct varieties and cultivars (August 2026) — all in our care, from our first trees planted in 2019 to new arrivals still in the nursery, waiting for the warm nights of their first planting season. All grow at the Orchard of Flavours in Luz de Tavira, Algarve, southern Portugal — Mediterranean climate, USDA hardiness zone 10b, heavy calcareous clay soil.

Every plant has its own record, created on the day it arrives and updated as it grows. Botanical names follow Plants of the World Online (POWO), the reference of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

A collection of many families

Our 330 species belong to around 70 botanical families — from the familiar ones (citrus, rose, myrtle, fig and mulberry) to families most people have never seen on a plate. The myrtle family (Myrtaceae) alone holds over 70 trees: guavas, feijoas, jaboticabas, pitangas and many rarer fruits from South America and Australia. At the other end, about 50 families are represented by only one to four trees. Each of these is a trial: a tree in the ground to find out whether it can be grown in a Mediterranean climate.

Download the full breakdown by family (PDF, 4 pages): all 70 families with number of trees, species and genera.

What each record contains

One record per species or cultivar, with:

  • Latin name, common names, and botanical family

  • Photos of the adult tree and of the edible parts

  • Edible parts described in plain words — what you eat and how it tastes

  • Origin, type of plant, foliage, and maximum height

  • Hardiness zone (USDA), ideal soil, sun, wind, and water preferences

  • Pollination and environmental attributes

  • Our own planting log: harvest months in the Algarve, planting date, and whether it is grafted

The fully documented database of over 330 edible plant species and 500+ varieties and cultivars grown at the Orchard of Flavours botanical garden, Algarve, Portugal.

Use it for your own project

This database is not only our inventory. It can become the starting point of your food forest, orchard, or edible garden.

  • Filter and sort the table by hardiness zone, water needs, soil, or height to match your own conditions.

  • Download the CSV file (link at the bottom right of the table) and build your own planting list from it.

  • You can also download the full database as a formatted Excel file (updated August 2026).

  • Click "View larger version" at the bottom right of the table for the full-screen view.

Everything here is free to use. If it helps your project, we only ask that you mention the Orchard of Flavours as the source. Simply link back to this page — that's enough for us. 🌱

Honest data

Not every tree survives. Plants that die are moved to our Plant Cemetery, where the cause of loss is recorded. What fails on our soil is as instructive as what succeeds.

Questions, corrections, or advice? Contact us — we answer.

List of all edible plant species growing at Orchard of Flavours