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Introduction

The first Southeast Asian gardens, in the Western sense of the term, were those planted around royal palaces and Buddhist or Hindu temples. From written accounts, we know that these included trees and shrubs sometimes selected purely for their ornamental qualities but more often because of their symbolic associations and use in ceremonies. In the earliest days the plants were nearly all native to the region, but these were later joined by countless introduced specimens, to such an extent that few, if any, of the surviving landscapes bear much resemblance to their original composition. The gardens of ordinary homes were similarly prescribed by tradition, serving utilitarian rather than decorative aims. The majority of the specimens produced edible fruits or leaves and roots that could be used in cooking or traditional medicine.

All this began to change with the arrival of outsiders, mainly Europeans, who brought with them not only new concepts of garden design (and purpose) but also new ornamentals to enhance them. The movement of plant materials around the world during the past 500 years is an extraordinary story, nowhere more so than in tropical regions where the climate enabled introduced species to become established within a short time.

Take, for instance, the now ubiquitous chilli pepper, essential to a dozen or so cuisines. This pungent little fruit was unknown outside its native tropical America before Columbus made his historic voyage toward the end of the 15th century, one of his objectives being to discover the source of the black pepper then so coveted in Europe. Precisely how and when chillies made their way to Asia is unknown, but they were almost certainly brought by some of the Western explorers who came in the next century and rapidly became such an integral part of various cultures it is difficult to imagine their absence.

The same thing happened with countless ornamental plants. These came primarily from Central and South America, but also from Africa, remote islands like Madagascar, and arid Australia. Every Southeast Asian garden today displays evidence of this great botanical migration through such now common species as the Acacia and the Flame Tree, the Allamanda and the Bougainvillea, the Canna and the Heliconia. Some came early and haphazardly. Others were introduced more systematically through the great 19th-century botanical gardens. With few exceptions, they adapted quickly, and many soon could be found growing as wild as real natives. The process still continues. Visit any nursery plant market in Jakarta, Singapore, or Bangkok today, and you will find specimens that have yet to acquire local cultural associations, sometimes even local names. Come back in a few years, though and they may well be relatively commonplace.

The entries in this book are arranged according to family, in alphabetical order. An index which includes the common and scientific names can be found at the back of the book.