SRI LANKA - THE ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDEN

Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is located in close proximity to the city

of Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is renowned for the collection

of a variety of Orchids,and has more than 300 varieties of Orchids, spices,

medicinal plants and palms trees attach it is the National Herbarium. Total land

mass of the botanical garden is 147 acres (0.59 km²), 460 Meters above sea

level with a 200 day annual rain fall, it is managed by the Division of National

Botanic Gardens of the Department of Agriculture.

Contents  [hide] 1 History 2 Gardens 3 Other Botanic Gardens in Sri Lanka 4 References & external links

[edit]History

The Classical Avenue of Palms is located in this Garden. One tree with a

significant history is the Cannon ball Tree planted by King George V of the

United Kingdom and Queen Mary in 1901. The tree is bent with its fruits which

look like Cannon Balls, which is how it came to be named.The origins of the

Botanic Gardens dates as far back as 1371 when King Wickramabahu III 

ascended the throne and kept court at Peradeniya near Mahaweli river, this 

was followed by King Kirti Sri and King Rajadhi Rajasinghe. A temple was built

on this location by King Wimala Dharma but it was destroyed by the British

when they were given control over the Kandyan Kingdom. Thereafter the

ground work for a Botanical Garden were formed by Mr Alexandar Moon in 

1821. Botanical Garden at Peradeniya were formally established and plants

from Kew Garden at Slave island, Colombo and from the Kalutara Garden in 

Kalutara were moved up until 1843. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya

was made more independent and expanded under Mr George Gardner as its

superintendent in 1844. The gardens came under the administration of the

Department of Agriculture when it was established in 1912.

It was also used during the Second World War by Lord Louis Mountbatten,

the supreme commander of the allied forces in South Asia as the headquarters

of the South East Asia Command.

Source : Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

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