Dracaena Draco, commonly known as Dragon Tree or Dragon’s Blood Tree is a very rare subtropical tree that is endemic to Canary Islands, Madeira & Cape Verde, where only a few specimens can be found growing naturally on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma, in dry bush at the low elevations of the islands' rocky mountain ranges. Many ancient examples are 20 to 30 feet tall and believed to be up to a thousand years old.
Dragon Trees (Dracaena draco) are survivors from a bygone age and were around in prehistoric times. They are believed to be one of the longest surviving trees on the planet and they are made to stand up to all manner of adverse conditions.
These fabulous evergreen plants typically grow a thick single trunk topped with a dense crown of stiff sword shaped gray-green leaves up to 2 feet long and 1 1/2 inches wide. When they reach blooming size, they will produce new branches after each bloom, eventually creating a dense umbrella-shaped canopy of thick leaves with all the branches ending at the same line and it develops thick aerial roots. This plant is very slow growing—it can take 10 years to reach a height of 2-3 feet (its maximum height is 30 ft). Every time it flowers (greenish- creamy-white flower blooms are fragrant), that are borne on a branched spike, which causes the hundred-headed effect. The fruits are pea-sized, bright orange, and very fleshy. The Dragon Tree grows very slowly, commonly to around 8-15 feet tall and wide. It resists bugs well and when mature is very resistant to fire.
The famous red resin that gives it its name is exuded from the bark after wounding the trunk or branch, it produces red sap that resembles blood. The processed "Dragon's Blood" was believed to harness mystical powers and was used in the mummification process and other rituals. The medicinal and colouring properties of this resin, and that from other dragon trees, was recorded by the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome. It continues to be used in medicine, dyes, varnish and incense to this day. Dragon's Blood trees have been used throughout the ages for everything from staining wood to healing cuts and scrapes to magical ceremonies. Because of its various medicinal and magical properties, it was sought by various cultures around the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa. Today the Dragon's Blood is still in use to produce a hard, shiny furniture polish.
The natives of the Canary Islands harvested the resin of these trees for mummification. They made shields of its bark, colored their hair red with its leaves, and hollowed out dead trees for beehives. The odd branch formations resemble the hundred heads of the dragon. Fossils of this tree have been found in southern France. It probably grew along the coast of the Tethys Sea, which once separated Africa and Eurasia and shrank to become the Mediterranean. During the Spanish Conquest, dragon trees were over-harvested; nowadays they are very scarce in their native areas and are protected. The red resin of this tree is richly fragrant and of a much higher quality than the resin from Calamus draco—it is almost impossible to find on the market at all.
Dragon Trees can withstand extreme heat, drought, wind and salty spray but they had no natural protection against people and so countless specimens were destroyed for use as timber, to clear the land and for commercial purposes. Fortunately they are now legally protected and have become recognized as a plant symbol of the island.
Identity of Dragon’s blood tree
Scientific Name: Dracaena draco L.
Synonym:
Family: Agavaceae
Origin: Canary Islands, Madeira Island, Cape Verde Islands
Growth Habits: Palm-like evergreen slowly growing to 30 feet (9 m), 20 feet spread (6 m)
Watering Needs: Moderate water
Propagation: Tip cuttings, root cuttings, seeds
A single stemmed Dragon tree at the New York Botanical Garden
Flowers and seeds
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