Dragons Blood Tree Seeds Dracaena Draco seeds
LATIN NAME: Dracaena draco
COMMON NAME: Dragon Tree
The dragon tree raises its thick, branched trunk and the dense rosettes of the stiff, sword-shaped leaves, and the whole tree stands like an old, slow monument. The slow-growing, evergreen, long-lived tree carries the thick, grey, scaly trunk and branches with the dense rosettes of the many stiff, sword-shaped, grey-green leaves and the large, loose, branched panicles of the small, greenish-white flowers through the warm season, one of the fine, bold sights of the dry garden, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, round, orange-red berries. The reddish resin has a very long record as the fine, red gum of the old craft boxes, and the tree is a fine, historic presence of the dry garden. It is a tree of the open, sunny, sharp-draining ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The dragon tree is a historic subject of the plant science, and the rosettes of the stiff leaves keep showing up in the work on the slow-growing trees. The way the reddish resin forms in the thick, grey trunk has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the slow-growing trees, the resinous trunks and the members of the asparagus family. The dense rosettes and the branching habit have also made it a fine study tree, and the dragon tree is a regular subject of the work on the stiff leaves of the dry world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The dragon tree is a fine, bold tree of the dry garden and the study collection. The large, loose, branched panicles of the small, greenish-white flowers open through the warm season, one of the fine, bold sights of the dry garden, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, round, orange-red berries, and the reddish resin has a very long record as the fine, red gum of the old craft boxes, the varnishes and the lacquers. It is one of the fine choices for the dry garden, the conservatory and the study collection, and it has been written up in the botanical and the horticultural papers for the rosettes of the stiff leaves and the very long history. It is a fine, bold tree of the open, sunny, sharp-draining garden.
Give the young trees the warmth and the sharp-draining soil, and the rosettes will rise over the years.
To grow the dragon tree from seed, sow the small, round seeds just under the surface of the deep pot of gritty, sharp-draining soil, keep the pot in a warm, bright spot and water gently, then pot the young trees on as they fill the pot. The seedlings appear within a few weeks and grow on slowly. With the sun, the warmth and the sharp-draining ground, the young rosettes will rise over the years.
Dracaena draco, known as the Dragon's Blood Tree, is a lovely tall Dracaena that originates from the Canary Islands.
Dragon's blood was used as a dye and medicine (respiratory & gastrointestinal problems)
The Dracaena draco tree is characterised by a single or multiple trunk growing up to about 8-12 metres tall (rarely more), with a dense umbrella-shaped canopy of thick blue-green leaves. Young trees remain with only a single stem; branching occurs when the tree flowers, when two side shoots at the base of the flower panicle continue the growth as a fork in the stem.
As the old leaves die the stem gradually unveils with a scaly pattern.
At about 15 years of age, the stem stops growing and produces a flower spike with greenish-white lily-like perfumed flowers, followed by coral coloured berries.
When the bark or leaves are cut they secrete a reddish resin, one of the sources of the substance known as Dragon's Blood, used to stain wood, such as of the Stradivarius violins.