It is named after Khlong To Daeng, one of three main watercourses flowing through the forest. "To Daeng" is a name of one old magician Muslim woman in folklore, who disappeared in the forest and was said to have finally transformed into a crocodile.[2]
This peat swamp forest is a waterlogged tropical rainforest. Under the dark brown water is soft soil formed by the accumulation of decayed vegetation and animals that slowly decomposed and became peat soil with its layer's thickness of 0.5–5 m (1–16 ft). Since the soiled water is slightly acidic, the plants and wildlife species inhabiting the peat swamp forest and adaptable to the type of soil and basin that has expanded over the land for a long time.
Pa Phru To Daeng contains a variety of flora and fauna with special characteristics. The plants growing in this forest have buttresses to support the trunks to stand on spongy ground as well as strong branch roots expanding with stilt roots intertwining to support each other. Interesting plant species in this forest include Egyptian white water-lily (Nymphaea lotus) and Kong (Hanguana malayana), a herbaceous plant with stolon that float in the water.[5]
Natural trails at the Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest Nature Research and Study Centre are about 950 m (3,120 ft) long with wooden bridges. Signboards along the trails inform visitors.[5][4][6]
