Dracaena (plant)

Dracaena

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Asparagales

Family: Agavaceae (Dracaenaceae)

Genus: Dracaena

Species

Dragon trees:
Dracaena americana
Dracaena arborea - Tree dracaena
Dracaena cinnabari - Socotra dragon tree
Dracaena draco - Canary Islands dragon tree
Shrubby dracaenas:
Dracaena bicolor
Dracaena cincta
Dracaena concinna
Dracaena deremensis
Dracaena elliptica
Dracaena fragrans
Dracaena goldieana
Dracaena hookeriana
Dracaena marmorata
Dracaena phrynioides
Dracaena reflexa
Dracaena sanderiana
Dracaena surculosa - Gold dust dracaena
Dracaena thalioides
Dracaena umbraculifera

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.

(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.

Dragon's blood, a bright red substance 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. It was used in Europe as a medicine because of its astringent and healing properties. Now it is used as a varnish for violins and in photoengraving.

For the reptiles of the same genus name, see Dracaena