Awalokineswara Bosathun

Awalokineswara Bosathun

Mesua ferrea / Mesua nagassarium / නා ගස

     Mesua ferrea (Ceylon ironwood, Indian rose chestnut, or Cobra's saffron), is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful shape, grayish-green foliage with a beautiful pink to red flush of drooping young leaves, and large, fragrant white flowers. It is native to wet, tropical parts of Sri Lanka, India, southern Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Philippines, Malaysia and Sumatra, where it grows in evergreen forests, especially in river valleys. In the eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats in India it grows up to altitudes of 1500 meters, while in Sri Lanka up to 1000 meters 

See also :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesua_ferrea

 

Egoda Kelaniya

Egoda Kelaniya

Kelanimulla, Kolonnawa, Sri Lanka.

Egoda Kelaniya

Sri Lankan orchid

         Sri Lanka is home to over 170 species of orchids, 74 of them found nowhere else in the world. Some of the most precious orchids can be seen in the wild in the Sinharaja Rainforest and Horton Plains. The Royal Botanical Gardens, Paradeniya near Kandy is world famous for its Orchid House, where visitors can see more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids, from the rare indigenous Foxtail and Vesak orchids, to many natural and hybrid species.

Orchid Vanda

Orchid Vanda

Orchid Vanda

Orchid Oncidium

Orchid Dendrobium

Orchid Dendrobium

Orchid Dendrobium

Orchid Phalaenopsis

 

Orchid endemic

Flowers in Sri Lanka - Haggala Botanical Gardens

         Hakgala Botanical Garden is one of the four botanical gardens in Sri Lanka. The other three are Peradeniya Botanical Garden, Henarathgoda Botanical Garden and Mirijjawila Botanical Garden, Hakgala Botanical Garden is second largest botanical garden in Sri Lanka, Haggala Botanical Gardens is picturesquely situated in the hill country, a mere 16 kilometers away from the city of Nuwara Eliya. The comfortable cool weather that prevails throughout the year compliments the exotic flora and fauna, creating a true paradise.

History

        The garden was established in 1861 as an experimental cultivation of Cinchona, a commercial crop thriving at the time. Once after the Tea replaced the Cinchona, it was turned into an experimental Tea cultivation. In 1884 it transformed to a garden. Since then many sub tropical and some temperate plants were planted in the gardens.