Peradeniya Botanical Garden

Peradeniya Botanical Garden

Type-Botanical Garden
Location-Peradeniya,Sri Lanka
Handel-Department of National Botanic Garden,Sri Lanka
Developed-1750

Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is about 5.5 km to the west from the town of Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It attracts 2 million guests every year.[1] It is near the Mahaweli River (the longest in Sri Lanka).[2] It is well-known for its collection of orchids. The garden contains more than 4000 species of plants, like orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees.[1] Attached to it is the National Herbarium of Sri Lanka. The full area of the botanical garden is 147 acres (0.59 km2), at 460 meters above sea level, and with a 200-day annual rainfall. It is handled by the Section of National Botanic Gardens of the Department of Agriculture.


The origins of the Botanic Gardens date as far back as 1371 when King Wickramabahu III ascended the throne and held court at Peradeniya near the Mahaweli river. This was accompanied by King Kirti Sri and King Rajadhi Rajasinghe. A temple was constructed on this place by King Wimala Dharma, but it was damaged by the British when they were given handle over the Kingdom of Kandy.

While in World War II, the Botanical Garden was used by Master Louis Mountbatten, the great commander of the allied forces in the South Asia, as the head office of the South East Asia Command.

         


The plants is purely tropical, being recognized by an abundance of climbing plants or lianas, palms, bamboos, pandanus or screw-pines, epiphytes (orchids, ferns etc.), and lofty trees, the other often having buttresses roots. The leaves are usually large, heavy and leathery; the flowers normally brilliant and significant in size, and the fruits often of immense proportions and borne on the trunks of trees or older branches.
H.F. Macmillan, F.L.S, F.R. H.S. 1906 (Curator)