Dracaena (plant)
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Dracaena is a genus of about 40 species of trees and succulent shrubs in the family Ruscaceae, or, according to some treatments, separated (with Cordyline) into a family of their own, Dracaenaceae or in the Agavaceae. The majority of the species are native in Africa and nearby islands, with a few in southern Asia and one in tropical Central America.
Dracaena have a secondary thickening meristem in their trunk. This monocotyledonous secondary thickening meristem is quite different to the thickening meristem found in dicotyledonous plants and is termed Dracaenoid thickening by some authors. This character is shared with other members of the Agavaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae among other related families.
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Species
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 trees
- Dracaena americana Central America Dragon Tree
- 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 (Compact Dracaena)
- Dracaena elliptica
- Dracaena fragrans (Striped Dracaena)
- Dracaena goldieana
- Dracaena hookeriana
- Dracaena marginata (Red-edged Dracaena, also known as the Madagascar Dragon Tree)
- Dracaena marmorata
- Dracaena phrynioides
- Dracaena reflexa (Pleomele Dracaena, also known as the "Song of India")
- Dracaena sanderiana (Ribbon Dracaena)
- Dracaena surculosa (Spotted Dracaena or Gold Dust Dracaena)
- Dracaena thalioides
- Dracaena umbraculifera
Several other species previously included in Dracaena are now treated in the genus Cordyline.
Uses
A bright red resin, dragon's blood, is produced from D. draco and, in ancient times, from D. cinnabari.
References
- Casson, L. 1989. The Periplus Maris Erythraei. Princeton University Press. Especially pp. 69, 169-170. ISBN 0-691-04060-5.
- Schafer, E. 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 )
- Waterhouse, J. T. 1987. The Phylogenetic Significance of Dracaena-type growth. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 109:129-128.
