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Dipterocarpus Zeylanicus
''Dipterocarpus zeylanicus'', commonly known as හොර - Hora in Sinhalese and සරල - Sarala or කිරිපලු - Kiripalu, is a species of ''Dipterocarpus'' that is endemic to Sri Lanka. A closely related Indian species is '' Dipterocarpus turbinatus''. The Sri Lankan tree is a large tree that grows up to tall and in circumference. The bark is light pinkish brown or light yellowish brown. Leaves are big and oval, long. The sharp-edged leaves are covered with silver hairs. Flowers bloom in April and seeds have two wings to spread from wind. The bark contains considerable amounts of gray colour oleoresin. ''D. zeylanicus'' can be found in moist low country like Ratnapura, Kaluthara, Galle and Matara Districts and also in the Sinharaja rain forest. The tallest (nearly ) trees of Hora in Sri Lanka are found in Udakiruwa village in Lunugala and under great threat of legal/illegal felling. There are many place names which begin with the name of the Hora tree. E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peradeniya Botanical Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya are about 5.5 km to the west of the city of Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. In 2016, the garden was visited by 1.2 million locals and 400,000 foreign visitors. It is near the Mahaweli River (the longest river in Sri Lanka). It is renowned for its collection of orchids. The garden includes more than 4000 species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees.Royal Botanic Gardens Peradeniya Official Guide Map 2013 Attached to it is the " National Herbarium of Sri Lanka". The total area of the botanical garden is , at 460 meters above sea level, and with a 200-day annual rainfall. It is managed by the Department of national botanic gardens. History The origins of the Botanic Gardens date as far back as 1371 when King Wickramabahu III ascended the throne and kept court at Peradeniya near the Mahaweli river. This was followed by King Kirti Sri and King Rajadhi Rajasinghe. A temple was built on this location ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Henry Kendrick Thwaites
George Henry Kendrick Thwaites (9 July 1812, Bristol – 11 September 1882, Kandy) was an English botanist and entomologist. Career Thwaites was initially an accountant and studied botany during his spare time. He was interested particularly in the lower plants such as the algae and the cryptogams. He became a recognised botanist when he showed that the diatoms are not animals, but algae. In 1846 he was lecturer on botany at the Bristol school of pharmacy and afterwards at the medical school. In March 1849, on the death of George Gardner, Thwaites was appointed superintendent of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, Ceylon. A position he held for thirty years, until he resigned in 1879. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society on 1 June 1865 following the publication of his ''Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylaniæ'', – (five fasciculi 1859–64). His notes form the most valuable portion of Frederic Moore's ''Lepidoptera of Ceylon'' (3 vols 1880–1889). He established the Cinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinhala Language
Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first language of about 2 million other Sri Lankans, as of 2001. It is written in the Sinhalese script, a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. The language has two main varieties, written and spoken, and is a notable example of the linguistic phenomenon known as diglossia. Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka. Along with Pali, it played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. Early forms of the Sinhalese language are attested to as early as the 3rd century BCE. The language of these inscriptions, still retaining long vowels and aspirated consonants, is a Prakrit similar to Magadhi, a regional associate of the Middle-Indian Prakrits that had been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala language, Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil language, Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dipterocarpus Turbinatus
''Dipterocarpus turbinatus'', commonly known as gurjan or gurjun, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae, native to north-eastern India and mainland Southeast Asia, and cultivated in surrounding regions. It is an important source of the wood known as ''keruing'', and is often used in the plywood industry. Distribution ''Dipterocarpus turbinatus'' is native to an area from India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Cambodia, Laos to Vietnam. It is cultivated in Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan), Philippines, and China (southeast Tibet, southern & western Yunnan). Description The trees of ''D. turbinatus'' are lofty, growing tall. The bark is gray or dark brown, and is shallowly longitudinally fissured and flaky. Branchlets are glabrescent. The leaf buds are falcate, with both buds and young twigs densely gray and puberulous. The stipules are , densel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratnapura District
Ratnapura ( Sinhala: රත්නපුර දිස්ත්රික්කය, Tamil: இரத்தினபுரம் மாவட்டம்) is a district of Sri Lanka in the Sabaragamuwa Province. This gem-mining centre of Sri Lanka is also a major crossroad between southern plains and the hill country to the east. A bustling market city servicing most of the surrounding towns, many of the prominent gem dealers in Sri Lanka operate from this town. There is a route to Sri Pada from Ratnapura direction. Excursions include Sinharaja Forest Reserve and Udawalawe National Park. The surrounding area is a popular trekking destination and a good place for bird watching. The district is home to Kukulugala, the 18th tallest mountain in Sri Lanka. Religion The majority of the population are Buddhists. Other religions include Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.Department of Census and StatisticThe Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011/ref> Major cities * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalutara District
Kalutara District (; ''Kaḷuttuṟai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the city of Kalutara . Geography Kalutara District is located in the south-west of Sri Lanka and has an area of . It is bounded by Colombo District in the north, Ratnapura District in the east, Galle District in the south, and the Indian Ocean in the west. Administrative units Kalutara District is divided into 14 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 762 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions). Demographics Population Kalutara District's population was 1,217,260 in 2012. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galle District
Galle ( ''gālla distrikkaya''; ''Kāli māvattam'') is a Districts of Sri Lanka, district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), Government Agent) appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka, central government of Sri Lanka. Geological background Its area is : is water and is land. Galle District is bounded on the north by the Benthara River, south and west by the Indian Ocean and east by Matara District, Matara and Ratnapura District, Ratnapura districts. The topography of the Galle District is very diverse. The climatic condition of Hiniduma Patthuwa is very similar to the central hill country of Sri Lanka. This area consists of rainforests, which is the water catchment area for most of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matara District
Matara ( ''Mātara distrikkaya''; ''Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. Geography Matara District is located in the south west of Sri Lanka and has an area of . It is represented in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election by former Sri Lankan national cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya who stood for the United People's Freedom Alliance. Administrative units Matara District is divided into 16 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 650 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions), with 1,658 vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary Forestry in Sri Lanka, tropical rainforest. Over 60% of the trees are endemic, many of them considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan's endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds. The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala National Park, Yala. The most common larger mammal is the ende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badulla District
Badulla District ( ''badūlla distrikkaya''; ''Patuḷai māvaṭṭam'') is a Districts of Sri Lanka, district in Uva Province, Sri Lanka. The entire land area of the Badulla district is and has a total population of 871763 as of 2024. The district is bounded by the Kandy district to the North and by Nuwara Eliya and Matale districts to the West. The South-Eastern border creates with the districts of Rathnapura,Monaragala & Ampara. Mainly the economy of the district is based on Agriculture, agricultural farming and livestock. Badulla District is an agricultural district where tea and various vegetables are cultivated. The district is divided into an upper region and a lower region which differ in climatic and geographic characteristics. The upper region of the district is known for tea plantations and vegetable cultivation while the lower region focuses more on Paddy field, paddy farming. Education Universities * Uva Wellassa University Schools Bandarawela * Bandarawela C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
