Botanical collections had been developed in Angers since the creation of the Society of Botanophiles in 1777. Preserved in the Jardin des Plantes during most of the 19th century, the herbaria were re-housed in 1895 in the Old Mansion House, the north wing of the Old Town Hall, adjacent to the Palaeontological Museum. The SESA followed suit. Alexandre Boreau's herbarium was bought by the municipality in 1875, and that of James Lloyd (1810–1896) was bequeathed to the city in 1897. All herbaria have been grouped at the Arboretum Gaston Allard since 1964; the SESA accompanied this move. From 1898 to 2005 these collections formed the Botanical Museum.