''Dracaena serrulata'' also called the Arabian or Yemen Dragon Tree is a distinctive tree reaching around 5m tall with a single trunk. It is found in the dry

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

mountains of southwestern

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

from

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Habitat

''Dracaena serrulata'' is restricted largely to the highest, dry

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

s at the back of monsoon mountains- an area which

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

rains do not reach. ''Dracaena serrulata'' grows commonly in association with species as ''

Vachellia etbaica ''Vachellia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus ''Acacia'' until 2009. ''Vachellia'' can ...

'' and '' Grewia erythraea''.

Uses

The stiff leaves of the ''Dracaena serrulata'' were an important source of

fibre Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

and

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

. The large, stiff and spike-tipped leaves were cut or pulled from the trunk, and beaten with heavy

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

to loosen and crack open the rigid outer casing of the leaf. Then the leaves were taken to water and left to soak in it for some weeks. Once thoroughly softened, the leaves were removed from the water and piled up in heaps on a hard flat surface, and then beaten and thrashed with switches to loosen the fibre into separate strands. Once the separate fibres had been unravelled, they were twisted and rubbed on the thigh or between the fingers to produce threads, which could then be double or trebled, rolled and twisted again, or plaited according to the thickness of rope desired. These threads were traditionally said to make the strongest of all the cordage produced in

. The rope made form the ''Dracaena serrulata'' were popularly used as camel tackle, baggage ropes and rope-pulleys used to lower the heavy sacks of

frankincense Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense'). There are several species o ...

down precipices or across areas where baggage camels had difficulty penetrating. Ropes from this plant were also used to make

harnesses A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Pet harness * Five-point harness * Horse harness * Parrot harness * ...

in which men were lowered down sheer cliff sides to gather wild honey. The threads of the ''Dracaena serrulata'' also had a certain 'give', which made them popular for use of sling shots and bow-strings. The heart of a group of leaves of the ''Dracaena serrulata'' could also be eaten. The wood of the ''Dracaena serrulata'' was also occasionally used to make drums. Sections of the trunk would be sliced across horizontally and hollowed out to make the

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

, the wooden sides being pierced with small holes and the top and bottom percussive parts being made from

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

, usually from goats.

Conservation

''Dracaena serrulata'' is classified as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. It was awarded the Future Conservation Award in 2017 with plans to identify the population size, health status and reproduction capacity of the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. The project team also plan to detail the

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

and map the extent of the ''Dracaena serrulata''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15510468 serrulata Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker