''Dracaena draco'', the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

tree in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Dracaena'',

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and is thought to be introduced in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. Its closest living relative is the dragon blood tree of

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen� ...

, '' Dracaena cinnabari''. It was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in 1762 as ''Asparagus draco''. In 1767 he assigned it to the new genus, Dracaena.

Description

''Dracaena draco'' is an evergreen long lived tree with up to or more in height and a trunk 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 Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one ...

, with a branching growth pattern currently placed in the asparagus family (

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate ...

, 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 a mature plant has an umbrella-like habit. It grows slowly, requiring about 10 years to reach in height, but can grow much faster. Despite being a monocotyledon, it still has annual or growth rings. There is considerable genetic variation within the Canary Island dragon trees. The form found on

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

is now treated as a separate species, ''

Dracaena tamaranae ''Dracaena tamaranae'', or drago de Gran Canaria, is a species of endemic plants of the island of Gran Canaria, related to the dragon tree, ''Dracaena draco'', and other species of '' Dracaena'' from East Africa Africa is the world's s ...

'', 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: * ''D. draco'' subsp. ''draco'': Endemic to Madeira and Canary Islands * ''D. draco'' subsp. ''ajgal'' Benabid & Cuzin: Endemic to Morocco * ''D. draco'' subsp. ''caboverdeana'' Marrero Rodr. & R.S.Almeida: Endemic to the Cape Verde islands

Distribution and habitat

''Dracaena draco'' is native to Macaronesia and southwest

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

, where it is commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant. On the Canary and Madeira archipelagos, wild endemic populations today are known only in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

after recently going extinct in the wild in

. Wild populations in Morocco extend to the southwest

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through ...

. 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

and

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, 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 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 In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...

, one of several sources of substances known as

dragon's blood Dragon's blood is a bright red resin which is obtained from different species of a number of distinct plant genera: '' Calamus'' spp. (previously ''Daemonorops'') also including '' Calamus rotang'', '' Croton'', '' Dracaena'' and ''Pterocarpus'' ...

. 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 '' 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 A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

. Humboldt saw it at the time of his visit. It was tall and in circumference, and was estimated to be 6000 years old. It was destroyed by a storm in 1868.

Cultivation

''Dracaena draco'' is cultivated and widely available as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

for parks, gardens, and drought tolerant water conserving sustainable landscape projects. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. In 2017, the city of

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the B ...

( Terceira Island) planted a grove of 200 dragon trees. The Museum of Wine on

Pico Island Pico Island (''Ilha do Pico,'' ) is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid- ...

, 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 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

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 Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

Symbolism

''Dracaena draco'' is the natural symbol of the island of

, together with the blue chaffinch.

Notable trees

Citations

General bibliography

Arkive: ''Dracaena draco'' factsheet

(photo gallery). * The climate requirements for ''Dracaena draco'' defined by its borders

northern Azores Islands an

Victoria, Australia (photos). * Benabid, A. & Cuzin, F. (1997). Dragon tree (''Dracaena draco'' subsp. ''ajgal'' Benabid et Cuzin) populations in Morocco: Taxonomical, biogeographical and phytosociological values. ''Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences'' Série III Sciences de la Vie 320(3): 267–277.

External links

* * Vietnamese Dracaena draco i
cây phát tài núi
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157952

draco Draco is the Latin word for serpent or dragon. Draco or Drako may also refer to: People * Draco (lawgiver) (from Greek: Δράκων; 7th century BC), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term ''draconian'' is derived * ...

Flora of Macaronesia Flora of Morocco Plants described in 1762 Vulnerable plants Tenerife Garden plants of Africa Ornamental trees Drought-tolerant trees Trees of Mediterranean climate 1762 in Spain Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus