Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

This Botanical garden is situated 6 kilometres south of Kandy, 110 kilometres from Colombo. It has been established in the year 1821 by Alexander Moon and is 62 hectares in extent. The Mahaweli Ganga bounds it on three sides, and the Colombo—Kandy main road serves as the fourth boundary.

Peradeniya park had existed during the Kandyan administration. It is said that Wickremabahu III of Gampola (1356) had set up a flower garden and a pavilion in these premises. King Wickremabahu | had established a vihara there. Two Kandyan Kings, Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747-1782) and Rajadhi Rajasinha (1782-1798), had lived in Peradeniya for short periods.

During the period 1822 - 1843, when the Botanical Garden was extended, the lands owned by the villagers had been utilised for the purpose. Certain plants available in the botanical gardens at Kalutara had been brought to Peradeniya. Due to the initiative of park authorities, other parks were established at Haggala in 1861 and at Henaratgoda in 1876.

The garden contains more than 4,000 taxa in the living collection other than horticultural hybrids, which had been excluded. The altitude of the garden is 550 meters, with the mean temperature around 26 centigrade. The spectacular arboretum includes a large variety of endemic trees of Sri Lanka. The number of endemic plant species exceeds 110. The palm collection arranged in the form of palm avenues enhance the appeal of the garden. Cycad collection; the bamboos together with the flower and orchid collections are unique features in the garden. This garden has been preserving dried herbarium specimens from 1822 onwards.

(Heritage of Kandurata by Dr. H.A.P. Abeyawardana P37)

Unique Sri Lanka

Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

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