Dragon's blood is a bright red

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

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 ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical tree genus in the Fabaceae family. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' yi ...

''. The red resin has been in continuous use since ancient times as

varnish Varnish is a clear Transparency (optics), transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not to be confused with wood stain. It usually has a yellowish shade due to the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmente ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

, pigment, and

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

Name and source

A great degree of confusion existed for the ancients in regard to the source and identity of dragon's blood. Some medieval encyclopedias claimed its source as the literal blood of elephants and dragons who had perished in mortal combat. The resin of '' Dracaena'' species, "true"

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

's blood, and the very poisonous mineral

cinnabar Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...

(mercury sulfide) were often confused by the ancient Romans. In ancient China, little or no distinction was made among the types of dragon's blood from the different species. Both ''Dracaena'' and '' Calamus'' resins are still often marketed today as dragon's blood, with little or no distinction being made between the plant sources; however, the resin obtained from ''Calamus'' has become the most commonly sold type in modern times, often in the form of large balls of resin. Resins that come from different species and different continents have been given the name “dragon's blood,” but their purity, appearance, and chemical properties are highly varied. Voyagers to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

in the 15th century obtained dragon's blood as dried garnet-red drops from ''

Dracaena draco ''Dracaena draco'', the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropics, subtropical tree in the genus ''Dracaena (plant), Dracaena'', native plant, native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, Mount Adad Madani, western Morocco, and ...

'', a tree native to the Canary Islands and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. The resin is exuded from its wounded trunk or branches. Dragon's blood is also obtained by the same method from the closely related ''

Dracaena cinnabari ''Dracaena cinnabari'', the Socotra dragon tree or dragon blood tree, is a dragon tree native to the Socotra archipelago, part of Yemen, located in the Arabian Sea. It is named after the blood-like color of the red sap that the trees produce. ...

'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the island of

Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...

. This resin was traded to ancient Europe via the Incense Road. Dragon's blood resin is also produced from the rattan palms of the genus ''Calamus'' of the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n islands and known there as ''jernang'' or ''djernang''. It is gathered by breaking off the layer of red resin encasing the unripe fruit of the rattan. The collected resin is then rolled into solid balls before being sold. The red latex of the Sangre de Drago (called Sangre de Grado in Peru), from any of seven species of ''Croton'' native to Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil, has purported wound-healing and antioxidant properties, and has been used for centuries by native people. The species are: * '' Croton draconoides'' , (

wikispecies Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a comprehensive open content catalogue of all species; the project is directed at scientists, rather than at the general public. Jimmy Wales s ...

) * '' Croton palanostigma'' , (

) * '' Croton perpecosus'' , (

) * '' Croton rimbachii'' , (

) * '' Croton sampatik'' , (

) * '' Croton erythrochilus'' , (

) * '' Croton lechleri'' , (

)

Visual characteristics

In his study of artists' pigments, the chemist George Field described dragon's blood as “a warm semi-transparent, rather dull, red colour, which is deepened by impure air, and darkened by light.”

History and uses

The dragon's blood known in antiquity was mostly collected from ''D. cinnabari'', and is mentioned in the 1st century '' Periplus Maris Erythraei'' (xxx.10.17) as one of the products of

. Socotra had been an important trading centre since at least the time of the Ptolemies. Dragon's blood was used as a dye, painting pigment, and medicine (respiratory and gastrointestinal problems) in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

basin, and was held by early

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, Romans, and

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

to have medicinal properties.

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

and other early Greek writers described its medicinal uses. Giotto di Bondone 088

A notable occurrence of dragon's blood red in art is in

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

's ''Pentecost''. In this painting, it is believed that the pigment used in the orange-red flames over the Apostles' heads is dragon's blood. Locals on

island use the ''Dracaena'' resin as a sort of

cure-all A panacea () is any supposed wiktionary:remedy, remedy that is claimed (for example) to cure all diseases and Immortality, prolong life indefinitely. Named after the Greek goddess of universal remedy Panacea, it was in the past sought by alchemy, ...

, using it for such things as general wound healing, a coagulant (though this is ill-advised with commercial products, as the ''Calamus'' species acts as an anti-coagulant and it is usually unknown what species the dragon's blood came from), curing diarrhea, lowering fevers, dysentery diseases, taken internally for ulcers in the mouth, throat, intestines and stomach, as well as an antiviral for respiratory viruses, stomach viruses and for skin disorders such as eczema. It was also used in medieval ritual magic and

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

. Dragon's blood of both ''Dracaena draco'' (commonly referred to as the Draconis Palm) and ''Dracaena cinnabari'' were used as a source of varnish for 18th century

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

violinmakers. There was also an 18th-century recipe for

toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice that is used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics of Human tooth, teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from th ...

that contained dragon's blood. Dragon's blood from both ''Calamus'' were used for ceremonies in India. Sometimes ''Dracaena'' resin, but more often ''Calamus'' resin, was used in China as red varnish for wooden furniture. It was also used to colour the surface of writing paper for banners and posters, used especially for weddings and for

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

. Dragon's blood incense is also occasionally sold as "red rock opium" to unsuspecting would-be drug buyers. It actually contains no opiates, and has only slight psychoactive effects, if any at all. Thaspine from the Dragon's Blood of the species '' Croton lechleri'' has possible use as a cancer drug. Today, dragon's blood from a South American plant can be bought in health food stores. Painters used of dragon's blood in the creation of flesh tones during the 17th century. By the 19th century, publications on artists' materials indicate that it was most useful as a varnish, not as pigment for painting. In 1835, George Field stated that dragon's blood is “unsatisfactory for painting.” However, the pigment was used to prepare the color known as "Chinese orange." Today, dragon's blood has a variety of uses. Outside of it being a pigment in paintings and colors, it is still used as a varnish for violins, in photoengraving, as a medicine, as an incense resin, and as a body oil. The occurrence of bitter taste masking compounds in dragon's blood from ''Daemonorops draco'' indicates the relevance of the species for use in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.S. Sterneder, J. Seitz, J. Kiefl, E. Rottmann, M. Liebig, M. Blings, S. Seilwind, Y. Zhou, J. Wei, H. Guan, Q. Zhu, J. Kreissl, K. Lamottke, J. Ley, V. Somoza (Sep 2024). “Identification of 4'-Demethyl-3,9-Dihydroeucomin as a Bitter-Masking Compound from the Resin of Daemonorops Draco", Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2024 72 (38), 20991-2099

/ref>

Safety

A study on oral toxicity of the DC resin methanol extract taken from the perennial tree ''Dracaena cinnabari'' was performed on female Laboratory rat#Sprague Dawley rat, Sprague Dawley rats in February 2018. Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity tests found that the extract could be tolerated up to 2,000 mg/kg body weight.,

List of botanical sources

* '' Calamus rotang'' L. * '' Calamus draco'' Willd. (synonyms include ''Daemonorops draco, D. rubra'') * '' Calamus didymophyllus'' Becc. Ridl. (synonyms include ''Daemonorops motleyi, D. didymophylla'') * '' Croton draconoides'' Müll. Arg. * '' Croton draco''

Schltdl. Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle an der Saale, Halle) was a German botanist. Life and work Von Schlechtendal was born in Xanten, Xanten am Rhein and when his father Diederich Fried ...

& Cham. * '' Croton lechleri'' Müll. Arg. * '' Croton erythrochilus'' Müll. Arg. * '' Croton palanostigma'' Klotzsch * '' Croton perspeciosus'' Croizat * '' Croton rimbachii'' Croizat * '' Croton sampatik'' Müll. Arg. * '' Croton urucurana'' Baill. * '' Croton xalapensis''

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850) was a German botanist. He was also known as Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth. He was one of the early systematic botanists who focused on studying the plants of th ...

* ''

'' Balf.f. * '' Dracaena cochinchinensis'' hort. ex

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

* ''

'' (L.) L. * '' Pterocarpus officinalis'' Jacq.

Name and source

Visual characteristics

History and uses

Safety

List of botanical sources

See also

Footnotes

Further reading