Jump to content

Dracaena (plant)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Dragon tree)
For other uses, see Dracaena (disambiguation).

Dracaena
Temporal range: Oligocene-Recent[1]
Dracaena draco in Icod de los Vinos
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Convallarioideae
Genus: Dracaena
Vand. ex L.[2]
Diversity
200–220 species
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Acyntha Medik.
  • Chrysodracon P.L.Lu & Morden
  • Cordyline Adans., nom. rej. (non Cordyline Comm. ex R.Br.)
  • Draco Crantz
  • Drakaina Raf.
  • × Dravieria M.H.J.van der Meer
  • Nemampsis Raf.
  • Oedera Crantz
  • Pleomele Salisb.
  • Salmia Cav.
  • Sanseverinia Petagna
  • Sansevieria Thunb.
  • Stoerkia Crantz
  • Terminalis Medik.

Dracaena is a genus of about 200–220 species of trees and succulent shrubs.[2] The formerly accepted genera Pleomele and Sansevieria are now included in Dracaena.[2][4] In the APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae,[5] subfamily Convallarioideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae).[6][7] It has also formerly been separated (sometimes with Cordyline) into the family Dracaenaceae or kept in the Agavaceae (now Agavoideae).

The name dracaena is derived from the Latinised form of the Ancient Greek δράκαινα – drakaina, "female dragon".[8]

The Plants of the World Online database accepts 214 species as of September 2025.[2] The majority of the species are native to Africa (including the Canary Islands and Socotra), southern Asia, and northern Australia, but also seven species in Hawai'i, and two in tropical Central America.[2]

Description

[edit]

Dracaena species can have two growth types: arborescent (tree- or shrub-like) dracaenas (e.g. Dracaena cinnabari, Dracaena draco, Dracaena fragrans), which have stout above-ground stems to around 20 metres tall that branch from nodes after flowering, or if the growth tip is severed; and rhizomatous dracaenas (e.g. Dracaena trifasciata, Dracaena angolensis), which have underground rhizomes and leaves on the surface, ranging from straplike to cylindrical.[4][9]

The arborescent species of Dracaena have a secondary thickening meristem in their trunks,[10][11] termed Dracaenoid thickening by some authors,[12] which is quite different from the thickening meristem found in dicotyledonous plants. This characteristic is shared with some members of the Agavoideae, Lomandroideae, and Xanthorrhoeoideae among other members of the Asparagales.[10]

Many species of Dracaena are kept as houseplants due to tolerance of low light and sparse watering.[13]

Selected species

[edit]
Main article: List of Dracaena species

[clarification needed]

Formerly regarded as Dracaena

[edit]

Uses

[edit]

Ornamental

[edit]

Some shrubby species, such as D. fragrans, D. surculosa, D. marginata, and D. sanderiana, are popular as houseplants. Many of these are toxic to pets, though not humans, according to the ASPCA among others. Rooted stem cuttings of D. sanderiana are sold as "lucky bamboo", although only superficially resembling true bamboos.

Dracaena houseplants like humidity and moderate watering. They can tolerate periods of drought but the tips of the leaves may turn brown.[18] Leaves at the base will naturally yellow and drop off, leaving growth at the top and a bare stem.[18] Dracaena are vulnerable to mealybugs and scale insects.[18]

Other

[edit]

A naturally occurring bright red resin, dragon's blood, is collected from D. draco and, in ancient times, from D. cinnabari. Modern dragon's blood is, however, more likely to be from the unrelated Calamus rattan palms, formerly placed in Daemonorops.[a] It also has social functions in marking graves, sacred sites, and farm plots in many African societies.[20]

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Fruit as source of red resin exuded between scales, used medicinally and as a dye (one source of "dragon's blood"): Daemonorops didymophylla; Daemonorops draco; Daemonorops maculata; Daemonorops micrantha; Daemonorops propinqua; Daemonorops rubra[19]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ Denk; et al. (2014). "From mesic to arid: Leaf epidermal features suggest preadaptation in Miocene dragon trees (Dracaena)". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 200: 211–228. Bibcode:2014RPaPa.200..211D. doi:10.1016/J.REVPALBO.2013.09.009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Dracaena Vand. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  3. ^ "Genus: Dracaena Vand. ex L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2010-01-19. Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  4. ^ a b Lu, Pei-Luen; Morden, Clifford W. (2014-03-01). "Phylogenetic Relationships among Dracaenoid Genera (Asparagaceae: Nolinoideae) Inferred from Chloroplast DNA Loci". Systematic Botany. 39 (1): 90–104. doi:10.1600/036364414X678035. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  5. ^ Coombes 2012, p. 127.
  6. ^ Chase, Reveal & Fay 2009, pp. 132–136.
  7. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2016, pp. 1–20.
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary
  9. ^ Huxley, Anthony (1992). Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. Vol. 2. London : New York: Macmillan Press. pp. 96–97. ISBN 1-56159-001-0.
  10. ^ a b Rudall, Paula (1991). "Lateral Meristems and Stem Thickening Growth in Monocotyledons". Botanical Review. 57 (2). New York Botanical Garden Press: 150–163. ISSN 0006-8101. JSTOR 4354165. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  11. ^ Marcinkiewicz, Jan; Jura-Morawiec, Joanna (2024-03-12). "New insight into secondary growth in roots of monocotyledons using the example of the dragon tree, Dracaena draco L.". Brazilian Journal of Botany. 47 (2): 399–404. doi:10.1007/s40415-024-00997-x. ISSN 1806-9959. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  12. ^ "Dracaenaceae". The Dragon's Blood Tree Page. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  13. ^ Wong, James (2021-05-09). "Fancy a plant that will grow old with you?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  14. ^ "Dracaena ellenbeckiana". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  15. ^ "Dracaena ellenbeckiana (Kedong Dracaena)". exoten-garten.de.tl (in German). 2009. Retrieved 30 Jan 2016.
  16. ^ Wilkin et al. 2013, pp. 101–112.
  17. ^ "Dracaena names". Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  18. ^ a b c Peerless, Veronica (2017). How Not to Kill Your Houseplant. DK Penguin Random House. pp. 68–69.
  19. ^ Sunderland & Dransfield 2002.
  20. ^ Sheridan 2008, pp. 491–521.

Sources

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
  • Media related to Dracaena at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Dracaena at Wikispecies
  • Socotra botany Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dracaena_(plant)&oldid=1314955844"