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Dracaena (Plant) Dracaena is a genus of about 40 species of trees and succulent shrubs in the family Agavaceae, or, according to some treatments, separated (with Cordyline) into a family of their own, Dracaenaceae. The majority of the species are native in Africa and nearby islands, with a few in southern Asia and one in tropical Central America. They divide into two groups, perhaps better treated as separate genera: - A group of tree-size species with stout trunks and stiff, broad-based leaves, growing in arid semi-desert areas, and known as Dragon trees: D. americana, D. arborea, D. cinnabari, D. draco.
- A group of smaller, shrubby species with slender stems and flexible strap-shaped leaves, growing as understorey plants in rainforests (and very popular as houseplants): D. bicolor, D. cincta, D. concinna, D. deremensis, D. elliptica, D. fragrans, D. goldieana, D. hookeriana, D. marmorata, D. phrynioides, D. reflexa, D. sanderiana, D. surculosa, D. thalioides, D. umbraculifera.
Dragon's blood, a bright red gum used in mediaeval magic and alchemy, then believed by the users to be the dried blood of dragons, is actually the dried resin tapped from the stems of Dracaena draco and D. cinnabari found in Socotra and the neighbouring areas of Arabia and Africa. It was used as a dye and medicine in the Mediterranean. It was also used for ceremonial purposes in India. Now it is used as a varnish for violins and in photoengraving. The dragon's blood known to the ancient Romans was mostly collected from the base of the leaves of Dracaena cinnabari which is native to the island of Socotra and is mentioned in the 1st century Periplus (30:10. 17) as one of the products of that island. Socotra had been an important trading centre since at least the time of the Ptolemies, and was strategically placed 126 nautical miles east of Cape Guardafui on the Horn of Africa, near the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. There was great confusion in the Roman world, and in China, between the resin, true dragon's blood, and the poisonous mineral cinnabar (red sulphide of mercury). In later centuries 'dragon's blood from the various species of Dracaea trees was replaced to a great extent by a similar red resin produced by one of the rotang or rattan palms of the genus Daemonorops, found in the Indonesian islands and known there as jerang or djerang, which is used in China to give a red surface to writing paper. Dragon's Blood is currently used for its ability to heal wounds. It is used in witchcraft as a power amplifier, for protection, love, banishing and potency. Species Dragon trees Shrubby dracaenas - Dracaena bicolor
- Dracaena cincta
- Dracaena concinna
- Janet Craig Compact dracaena, Dracaena deremensis
- Dracaena elliptica
- Striped dracaena, Dracaena fragrans
- Dracaena goldieana
- Dracaena hookeriana
- Red-Edged dracaena, also known as the Madagascar Dragon tree, Dracaena marginata
- Dracaena marmorata
- Dracaena phrynioides
- Pleomele, also known as the Song of India, Dracaena reflexa
- Ribbon plant, also known as Lucky Bamboo and Belgian evergreen, Dracaena sanderiana
- Gold dust dracaena, Dracaena surculosa
- Dracaena thalioides
- Dracaena umbraculifera
The name "dragon tree" stems from the fact that the plant grows two new branches at the place where a branch was cut off, a bit like it is said to happen with the heads of a dragon, such as the Lernean Hydra. Several other species previously included in Dracaena are now treated in the genus Cordyline. References - Casson, Lionel. 1989. The Periplus Maris Erythraei. Princeton University Press. Especially pp. 69, 169-170. ISBN: 0-691-04060-5.
- Schafer, Edward H. 1963. The Golden Peaches of Samarkand: A study of T'ang Exotics. University of California Press. First paperback edition, 1985., p. 211. ISBN 0-520-05462-8
- Schoff, Wilfred H. 1912. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Longmans, Green, and Co., New York, Second Edition. Reprint: New Delhi, Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1974. (A new hardback edition is available from Coronet Books Inc. Also reprinted by South Asia Books, 1995, ISBN 8-121506-99-9 )
External links
For the reptiles of the same genus name, see Dracaena
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