Dracaena draco (Dragon Tree)

Dracaena draco

Dracaena draco (L.) L.

Dragon Tree, Drago, Canary Islands Dragon Tree, Dragontree

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Asparagaceae	Agaves, asparagus, hyacinths, and others
Genus	Dracaena	From the Ancient Greek δράκαινα (drakaina), “female dragon”
Species	draco

About plant names...

The dragon tree is native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, Azores, and part of Morocco. It is not found wild in North America. When branches or the trunk are cut, they ooze a red resin—”dragon’s blood.” The resin is used to color the varnish used for Stradivarius violins and in a photoengraving process.

Identification: Dragon trees cannot be confused with any other type of tree. Its foliage forms a dense, umbrella-shaped canopy of thick, moisture-retentive, stiff sword-shaped leaves. This canopy is shaped to funnel rainwater inward toward the trunk, where it is channeled to the roots; and it is thick enough to shade the roots to reduce evaporation. They reach heights of 39' (12 m). It grows very slowly, and some specimens are believed to be 650 years old.

Online References:

Dracaena draco on Wikipedia

Dracaena draco on floridata.com

Dracaena draco on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species

Dracaena draco at the University of Connecticut Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities