Dragon tree (Dracaena draco)

Description

Dragon tree fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

Dragon tree description

The name of this beautiful tree has mythical origins: for his 11th labour, Hercules had to bring back three golden apples from the garden of the Hespérides, which is guarded by Landon, the hundred-headed dragon. Hercules killed Landon and his blood flowed out over the land, which began to sprout ‘dragon’ trees ⁽²⁾. The tree exudes ‘dragon’s blood’ – a red sap – when cut ⁽³⁾.

The trunks are long and slender and the leaves are prickly ⁽⁴⁾. The flowers are greenish-white and have a sweet smell ⁽⁶⁾. The orange-brown berries are a little smaller than a cherry, pointed and covered in a red, resinous substance, and taste sweet ^{(4) (6)}.

Spanish

Drago De Canarias, Sangre De Drago.

Size

Length: 6 – 9 m ⁽²⁾

Leaf length: 50 – 60 cm ⁽⁶⁾

Dragon tree biology

The dragon tree is extremely slow-growing, taking 8 - 11 years to reach just 2 – 3 feet, when it begins to flower. Flowering occurs almost simultaneously on the Canary Islands, taking place only every 15 years ⁽⁶⁾. The flowering causes the stem to branch, resulting in a highly branched tree which can be aged according to the number of branches. The oldest individual is thought to be more than 650 years old ⁽⁵⁾.

The sap of this species is used as colouring matter for varnishes, tooth-pastes, tinctures and plasters ⁽⁴⁾.

Dragon tree range

Populations totalling a few hundred trees are found on five of the seven Canary Islands, in addition to two individuals on Madeira Island, Portugal and populations in Cape Verde, Morocco and about 50 – 80 trees on the Azorean Islands, particularly on Ilha das Flores ^{(1) (6)}.

Dragon tree habitat

The dragon tree is found in dry forests ⁽¹⁾. On Madeira and in the Azores, the plant grows in steep coastal cliffs usually below 200 m altitude. In the Canaries, it can be found in inaccessible cliffs from 100 - 600 m altitude, and in Morocco and Cabo Verde it grows high in the mountains ⁽⁶⁾.

Dragon tree status

The dragon tree is classified as Vulnerable (VU A1abcde) on the IUCN Red List 2003 ⁽¹⁾. It is listed as Endangered in the Red Data Book of Cape Verde ⁽²⁾.

Dragon tree threats

This species has undergone an extreme decline because of complex problems. It is said that its seeds used to germinate as a result of being eaten by a flightless bird and passing through the bird’s gut, but following the extinction of this bird, the seeds can nolonger germinate without human manipulation. However, this is a hypothesis only, and cannot be proved. There are even a few young trees in the Azores and in Morocco, despite the absence human seed preparation ⁽⁶⁾. Serious threats include the introduced rats that feed on the seeds and the goats and rabbits that graze on seedlings and young plants, preventing growth ⁽⁶⁾. Habitat loss for agriculture and because of fires has also contributed to declines ⁽¹⁾.

Dragon tree conservation

This species is widespread in cultivation around the world, as well as being listed in regional, governmental and international legislation ⁽¹⁾, but if it is to survive in the wild, conservation plans to educate and to create a network of protected areas must be put into practice ⁽²⁾.

Find out more

For further information on this species see:

• Global Trees Campaign: 
  http://www.globaltrees.org/tp_dracaena.htm
• Schaefer, H. (2003) Chorology and Diversity of the Azorean Flora. Dissertationes Botanicae 374. J. Cramer Publishers, Berlin. 130 pp. + CD rom (580 pp.).

Authentication

Authenticated (07/02/2005) by Dr Hanno Schaefer, University of Munich.

References

1. IUCN Red List (November, 2004)
   http://www.redlist.org
2. Global Trees Campaign (June 2010)
   http://www.globaltrees.org/tp_dracaena.htm
3. Schaefer, H. (2005) Pers. comm.
4. Barrera, J.B., Sánchez-Pinto, L., Padrón, J.I., Hernández, J.C., León, F. and Gonzalez, A.G. (2004) Flavans of dragon’s blood from Dracaena draco and Dracaena tamaranae. Biological Systematics and Ecology, 32: 179 - 184.
5. Botanical (November, 2004)
   http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dragon20.html
6. The Mediterranean Garden Society (November, 2004)
   http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/plants/Dracaena.draco.cfm