Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago,
It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1762 as Asparagus draco.
A related tree of similar appearance, the Socotra dragon tree Dracaena cinnabari, grows on the island of Socotra, Yemen, more than 7,000 km from the Canary Islands.
Description
Dracaena draco is an evergreen long lived tree capable of exceeding in height and having a trunk of or more in circumference, starting with a smooth bark that evolves to a more rough texture as it ages.
The "dragon tree" is a
Monocot, with a branching growth pattern currently placed in the asparagus family (
Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoidae).
When young it has a single stem. At about 10–15 years of age the stem stops growing and produces a flower spike with white, lily-like perfumed flowers, followed by coral berries. Soon a crown of terminal buds appears and the plant starts branching. Each branch grows for about 10–15 years and re-branches, so that a mature plant has an umbrella-like habit. It grows slowly, requiring about 10 years to reach in height, but at times, grows much faster.
Despite being a monocotyledon, it has annual growth rings. There is considerable genetic variation within the Canary Island dragon trees. The form found on Gran Canaria is now treated as a separate species, Dracaena tamaranae, based on differences in flower structure. The form endemic to La Palma, initially branches very low with numerous, nearly vertical branches arranged fastigiately. There is a forest of such trees at Las Tricias, Garafia district, La Palma.
Subspecies:
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D. draco subsp. draco: Endemic to Madeira and Canary Islands
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D. draco subsp. ajgal Benabid & Cuzin: Endemic to Morocco
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D. draco subsp. caboverdeana Marrero Rodr. & R.S.Almeida: Endemic to the Cape Verde islands
Plants of the World Online considers the Moroccan and Cape Verdean forms to be separate species, Dracaena ajgal and Dracaena caboverdeana.
Distribution and habitat
Dracaena draco is native to
Macaronesia and southwest
Morocco, where it is commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant. On the Canary and Madeira archipelagos, wild endemic populations today are known only in
Tenerife and
Madeira Island after recently going extinct in the wild in
Gran Canaria. Wild populations in Morocco extend to the southwest
Atlas Mountains. Its origin on the
Azores is uncertain but it is thought to result from an introduction made by the Portuguese prior to 1500 with seeds from
Madeira and
Cape Verde, as some individuals were observed to have similarities with the Cape Verdean subspecies (subsp.
caboverdeana); there are around 200-300 individuals on remote sites in the island of São Jorge and a few more on other islands and it is unknown if these populations can be considered native or the result of an early introduction.
Uses
When the bark or leaves are cut they secrete a reddish
resin, one of several sources of substances known as dragon's blood. Red resins from this tree contain many mono- and dimeric flavans that contribute to the red color of the resins.
Dragon's blood has a number of traditional medical uses, although dragon's blood obtained from
Dracaena draco was not known until the 15th century,
and analyses suggest that most dragon's blood used in art was obtained from species of the genus
Calamus formerly placed in
Daemonorops.
The primary and secondary plant body are the site of the secretory plant tissues that form dragon's blood. These tissues include ground parenchyma cells and cortex cells.
Dragon's blood from
Dracaena draco and
Dracaena cinnabari can be distinguished by differences in 10 compounds and a dominant flavonoid DrC11 missing in
Dracaena draco.
The Guanches worshiped a specimen in Tenerife, and hollowed its trunk into a small sanctuary. Alexander von Humboldt saw it at the time of his visit. It was tall and in circumference, and was estimated to be 6,000 years old. It was destroyed by a storm in 1868.
Cultivation
Dracaena draco is cultivated and widely available as an
ornamental tree for parks, gardens, and
xeriscape water conserving sustainable landscape projects. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
In 2017, the city of Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira Island) planted a grove of 200 dragon trees.
The Museum of Wine on Pico Island, Azores, has one of the largest concentrations of this species in Macaronesia, some being more than 100 years old.
File:20190928 161709 Richtone(HDR).jpg|A large dragon's blood tree in Amadora, Portugal
File:Dragon Tree in the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California.JPG|Dragon tree in the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California
Symbolism
Dracaena draco is the natural symbol of the island of
Tenerife, together with the blue chaffinch.
Notable trees
See also
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List of animal and plant symbols of the Canary Islands
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Wildlife of Cape Verde#Flora
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Dracaena cinnabari
Citations
General bibliography
External links
