Dracaena draco
| Dracaena draco | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Dracaena_draco.jpg The ancient specimen at Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife | ||||||||||||||
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| Dracaena draco (L.) L. |
Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands Dragon Tree or Drago is a subtropical Dragon Tree endemic to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Madeira. The tree is characterised by a single or multiple trunk growing up to 12 m tall, with a dense umbrella-shaped canopy of thick leaves. It grows slowly, requiring a decade to reach 1 m tall. Being monocotyledonous, Dracaena draco does not display annual rings and age can only be estimated by the number of branch ranks. Ancient examples are believed to be up to a thousand old; the oldest live specimen is reputed to be growing at Icod de los Vinos in northwest Tenerife.
When the bark or leaves are cut, it secretes a reddish resin known as Dragon's blood, used in ancient Roman and mediaeval magic and alchemy, then believed by the users to be the dried blood of dragons.