Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya

Some Interesting Features

Spice Garden
Orchid House
Plant House & Cacti
Flower Garden
Fernery
Palm Avenues
Double Coconut Palms
Lawns
The Lake
Bamboo Collection
Flowering Trees
Arboretum
Memorial Trees

 

Spice Garden


The shady Spice Garden situated on the right of the Main Entrance has a representative selection including cinnamon - the main spice exported from this country, pepper - the most demanded spice in the world, cardamom and nutmeg. Some of the oldest nutmeg trees planted in 1840 are still in full bearing.

Plant House & Cacti

Palm Avenues

There are three magnificent palm avenues, viz., the graceful Cabbage Palm Avenue (Roystonia oleracea) flanks the western River Drive - the palms in this avenue are over 21 m in height; the Palmyrah Palm Avenue (Borassus flabellifer) joins the Flower Garden with the river drive and the Royal Palm Avenue is seen along the Main Central Drive (Roystonia regia).




Double Coconut Palms


There are over 200 species of palms in the Garden. The  most remarkable amongst these, is the Double Coconut (Londoicea maladivica) from the Seychelles. This palm produces the largest seed in the plant kingdom - the fruits take five years to nature. These palms may be seen flanking Monument road which branches off to the left from the main Central Drive about 100m from the Main Entrance.




Lawns

Close to Monument Road is the Great Lawn. The most unique feature here is the Java Willow or Java Fig Tree (Ficus benjamina) which occupies the center of the lawn like a giant living umbrella. The ground covered by its enormous spread is about 1,800 Sq.m.

The Great circle (a circular lawn of 2 ha in extent) lawn in the centre of the Garden with symmetrically arranged canna beds enhances the beauty of the gardens to a great extent.




The Lake


The Lake is situated in South Drive to the left of the main Entrance. The margin of the Lake is planted with marsh plants. The most noteworthy is the Papyrus of the Nile (Cyperus papyrus).The lake is constructed in the shape of Sri Lanka




Bamboo Collection


The Bamboo collection is along the river drive to the right of the lake. The Giant Bamboo of Burma (Dendrocalamus giganteus) is the largest known in the world. The stems attain a height of 30-40 m and up to 20-25 cm in diameter. The average growth rate of new shoots is about 30 cm a day. Others are the Yellow Building Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), the featherly leaved Bamboo (Dendrocalamus membranaceus) the Prickly Bamboo (Bambusa spinosa) and the Dwarf Chinese Bamboo.




Flowering Trees


The most spectacular of the plants in the Garden are the flowering trees which come into bloom at various times with peak blooming during the first half of the year. Amherstia nobilis popularly known as the Pride of Burma is the finest and a row of this is found planted at the Main Entrance




Arboretum


An extensive Arboretum 20 ha in extent contains approximately 10,000 trees and shrubs (1179 spp) some of these trees are magnificent specimens which are over 100 years old. Among them are many tropical timber trees such as Satinwood and  Mahogany.

Memorial Trees


Around the great circle is a gallery of trees planted to commemorate the visits of distinguished people and events of national interest. About 84 trees are planted by various distinguished people are being grown at present.
Ficus religiosa (Bo tree) - Planted by the King Edward in 1875.
Mesua ferrea (Na Tree) Planted the late Czar of Russia in 1897.
Delonix regia (Flam boyand tree) - Planted by Prince Henry of Russia in 1899.
Couroupita guiariensis (Cannon - bal tree - Planted by their majesties King George Queen Mary in 1901.