Angkor Wat

Temples, Botanic Gardens and elephants

In 1858, French naturalist, Alexandre Henri Mouhot, was provided with grants by the Royal Geographical Society and London’s Zoological Society for a botanical expedition to the rainforests of Siam (Thailand), Laos and Cambodia. In 1860 he was deep in the Cambodian rainforest searching for new plants and insects for his collection when, so the story goes, he pulled aside some vines and “rediscovered” Angkor Wat which had been engulfed by jungle. Of course, that was colonial speak. This temple, the largest religious structure ever built in the world, had never really been ‘lost,’ as is evident from Mouhot’s sketch below, which depicts the temple in a relatively open clearing. But Mouhot can be credited for bringing Angkor Wat to the world’s attention through these detailed drawings which were widely published and thereafter the country became a destination for travellers from far and wide.

Sketch of Angkor Wat by Henri Mouhot 1860

Now a collection of abandoned temples within a forest, Angkor Wat was the centre of what was once the biggest and most populated city in the world. New radar technology has shown that in the 13th century, between 600,000 and 900,000 people lived in this city which covered an area of around 1200 square miles. In comparison, London at that time had a population of about 80,000. However, the city was abandoned in the early 15th century which archaeologists and scientists of today believe was because of a failing irrigation system that collapsed following floods. For a while after this only a few Buddhist monks remained in the main temple.

It is said that Angkor Wat (meaning ‘City Temple’) was built by 300,000 people and 6000 elephants. When I saw the enormous stones that were transported to the site from afar by elephants, I had a moment of sorrow for these magnificent creatures. I had recently spent a couple of days at a sanctuary for mistreated and abused elephants. One of them had broken and dislocated hips from logging work in Myanmar, and I thought of her when I looked at these stones which must have been much heavier to shift than logs. The woman who runs the sanctuary rescues adult elephants by buying them from their owners. Many elephants are still abused in Thailand and neighbouring countries; in order to train them to be submissive to humans so that they can be used for giving rides to tourists, they are tortured with knives and sharp objects. It is now illegal to use elephants for logging in most Asian countries and in Thailand and Cambodia and they are “protected.” But this does not stop them from being kept in captivity for entertainment. In this sanctuary there was no elephant riding and reduced human contact.

Elephants in a Thailand sanctuary, one with broken and dislocated hips from logging work

The majority of the buildings of Angkor Wat had been constructed from wood so these have all disappeared and now just about 70 temples remain. The encroachment of the jungle upon this abandoned city was such that some of the trees literally wrapped themselves around the temples and have now become so moulded and integrated into the structures of some of them that it is hard to see where the temple starts and the tree ends. Tetrameles nudiflorum, (commonly known as the Silk Cotton Tree or the False Hemp Tree), has roots which can grow up to 70 feet long. With their shiny, smooth, grey bark they resemble an elephant’s trunk protectively wrapping itself around the ancient stones. Ta Prohm, the “Tomb Raider” temple has a Tetrameles growing out of its roof with a remarkable spiderweb of roots anchoring it to the building. The bright sunshine gives the trunk a silvery sheen which makes the whole spectacle even more extraordinary.

Tetrameles growing out of the roof of Ta Prohm Temple

Tetrameles roots

The silvery smooth trunk and roots of Tetrameles

The buttressed trunk and roots of Tetrameles nudiflorum, Ta Prohm temple

Tetrameles is a useful coloniser for reforestation as it is so fast growing so it is not surprising that it has done so well in Angkor Wat. Oddly, this tree is quite closely related to the cucumber. Botanists, probably from Kew, have placed Tetrameles in the Order Cucurbitales, which only has seven Families, one of which includes cucumbers. In the Tetrameles Family, Tetramelaceae, there are only two Genus, Tetrameles and Octomeles and each has only the one species, so Tetrameles nudiflorum is the only species in that Genus. Tetra means four and Octo eight. Meles means sepals, thus the naming; the flowers of Tetrameles have only four sepals. The species name, nudiflorum (naked flower) describes the flowers appearing on bare stems. The common feature to all the plants in the Cucurbitales Order is that the veins in the leaves radiate from the base and the sepals and petals are not distinct, but it does seem slightly bizarre that this giant tree is so closely related to the spindly, trailing cucumber. That’s families for you.

Another good species for reforestation which is common around the temples of Angkor Wat is Ficus religiosa. Commonly known as the Peepal Tree, Pho Tree or Sacred Fig, it was under this which Buddha was said to have attained enlightenment. I can see how they would be ideal for sitting beneath for long periods because a veil of lianas hang from the branches to the ground and provide shade from the blazing sun. They are excellent colonisers being tolerant of varying climates; drought, floods and very poor soil. They often start life as an epiphyte, i.e. they grow upon other plants. The roots of Ficus religiosa penetrate the stem of their host and split it apart. They can also grow on stone, as they they have done on the temples here.

Lianas of Ficus religiosa, Angkor Wat

Ficus religiosa has been listed as an invasive weed by Global Compendium of Weeds, because they can adapt so well. They are also remarkable for their exceedingly lengthy life span, reportedly for up to 3000 years. The oldest one known today is a specimen in Sri Lanka which was planted in 288 BCE, so now 2311 years old, the oldest living flowering plant. They are beautiful trees with a rich, reddish bark and almost heart-shaped leaves with a distinctive drip tip, the long narrow extension at the tip of the leaf, which makes them easy to identify. Worshiped by Buddhists, you often see a saffron cloth tied around the base of the trunk. Those who worship Ficus religiosa are apparently blessed with happiness and prosperity. I will have to get one! They are also a traditional medicine for about 50 disorders.

A cousin of Ficus religiosa which is also thriving at Angkor Wat is Ficus benghalensis. It is known as the Great Banyan Tree, becuase of its size, or the Indian Banyan as it is the national tree of India, or the Strangler Fig because it grows by leaning on and killing in the process, its neighbours. This is one of the largest trees in the world in terms of canopy coverage; its aerial roots grow down to the soil, take root and then become woody trunks transforming one individual tree into a mini-forest. It was under this tree that the twenty-fourth Buddha achieved enlightenment. Another great shady place to sit.

Considering the abundance of these particular species in Cambodia, it is not surprising that the rainforest so successfully encroached on Angkor Wat. Indeed the whole of Cambodia was well covered with undisturbed rainforest for a long time but tragically in much more recent years it has lost 70% of its forested areas, one of the worst declines in the world. Despite the Cambodian Government putting Preservation Orders on vast areas of rainforest, they frequently break their own laws by allowing enormous areas of forest to be cleared for commercial logging in exchange for lucrative financial offers from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam. The decline of the rainforest is now at a critical point in Cambodia.

It was encouraging, however, to visit Angkor Wat Botanical Garden which is doing great work on preserving Cambodian species and educating the public on plant conservation and protection of the environment. This is the newest Botanical Gardens that I have been to in that it only opened in May 2022. The gardens are located half way between the city of Siem Reap and Angkor Wat temples and easy to get to, compared to some of the others I have been visiting in Asia; a tuk-tuk from the lovely peaceful city of Siem Reap took about fifteen minutes.

Tuk Tuk to the Botanical Gardens

Entrance to Angkor Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Gardens have been created in the Khmer style, with traditional wooden structures and a focus on medicinal plants and spices. These were previously known as the Spice Gardens but have since been completely redesigned and extended to 35 acres. As well as the remaining Spice Garden, the site includes a fabulous Flower Garden, an amazing Palm Grove, and a Forested Nature Walk where you are deafened by cicadas, and a wildlife area. It is said to have around 500 different species of plants at present, which no doubt will increase. The garden is segmented by streams, ponds and irrigation channels; the gardeners were hard at work digging more of these and doing so by hand using what we in the West would consider to be very ancient tools. It all looked really hard work, especially considering the very heavy clay soil and the heat.

Bridge to the Palm Grove, Angkor Botanical Gardens

Gardeners on their break, Angkor Botanical Gardens

In the Forest and Wildlife Garden you are suddenly deafened by cicadas which get louder the deeper you walk into it. This part is full of epiphytic ferns; Aspleniums and Platyceriums. There are also some small ponds with turtles and a few peacocks prancing around which would appeal to children.

Path to the Forest and Wildlife Garden with Asplenium nidus (Birds Nest Fern) on tree stumps and enormous Platycerium superbum (Staghorn Fern) on trunks

As well as plants native to Cambodia, such as the ferns, many palms, wonderful orchids, including Dendrobium noble, and Monstera delicosa (the Swiss Cheese Plant), the gardens had some wonderful colourful species from various parts of the world including Hymenocallis littoralis (Beach Spiderlily) which originates in the Americas, as does Bougainvillea, Caesalpina pulcherrima (Peacock Flower) from the Caribbean and Spathodea campanulata from Africa.

Tree hosting Bougainvillea

Hymenocallis littoralis (Beach Spiderlily)

Spathodea campanulata (The African Tulip Tree)

Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Pride of Barbados or Peacock Flower)

I loved this slightly quirky Botanic Garden. The flowers were spectacular and it was interesting to see so many unfamiliar species. They made the Khmer Spice Garden really engaging and no doubt it would be of particular interest to chefs. The plants are well labelled. I learnt about Ocimum tenuiflorum, known also as Holy Basil, or Tulsi. This is widely used in traditional Khmer stir fries and curries. Also, the leaves are crushed with grain to make an insect repellent. Ocimum give out more Oxygen than most other plants and they are good at absorbing toxic pollutants. They are one of the few plants that remove excessive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air at night. Perhaps a good plant to have in the house.

A lovely expanse of Tithonia rotundiflolia in the Flower Garden

The pergola into the Spice Garden

Alexandre Henri Mouhot would also have loved this Botanical Garden. Unfortunately he caught Malaria whilst on one of his expeditions in the Laos rainforests and died at the young age of 35. He was buried on the banks of the Mekong near Luang Prabang in Laos. The first monument on top of his grave was washed away by a flood. The second tomb was encroached by jungle and forgotten about until it was accidently discovered in 1989 by a French Laos scholar. Two species are named after Mouhot, but unfortunately no plants. Instead he is remembered by the Cambodian Kukri snake, Oligodon mouhoti and the Keeled Box Turtle also known as Mouhot’s Turtle, Cuoro mouhotii.