The gardens were founded in 1821 primarily to introduce coffee trees and various other tropical plants of economic importance to the region. Even after it took on a more botanical emphasis in the 1840s, the garden remained a centre for horticultural activities. Under the directorship of the botanist George H.K. Thwaites, the garden played a pivotal role in establishing the country’s flourishing tea industry in the late 1870s. Thwaites also brought in and cultivated the Brazilian rubber tree, which became a crop producer vital to Sri Lanka’s economy. The botanical collection has developed into one of the finest in the region.