Dracaena (plant)
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 Dracaena draco
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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.
[edit] 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.
- 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), and known collectively as shrubby dracaenas.
- Dragon trees
- Dracaena americana - Central America Dragon Tree
- Dracaena arborea - Tree Dracaena
- Dracaena cinnabari - Socotra Dragon Tree
- Dracaena draco - Canary Islands Dragon Tree
- Dracaena ombet - Gabal Elba Dragon Tree
- Shrubby dracaenas
- Dracaena aletriformis
- Dracaena bicolor
- Dracaena cincta
- Dracaena concinna
- Dracaena elliptica
- Dracaena fragrans - Striped Dracaena, Compact Dracaena, corn plant
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- Synonym: Dracaena deremensis
- Dracaena goldieana
- Dracaena hookeriana
- Dracaena mannii
- Dracaena marginata - Red-edged Dracaena or Madagascar Dragon Tree
- Dracaena marmorata
- Dracaena phrynioides
- Dracaena reflexa - Pleomele Dracaena or "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.
[edit] Uses
A bright red resin, dragon's blood, is produced from D. draco and, in ancient times, from D. cinnabari. Some species such as D. deremnsis, D. fragrans, D. godseffiana, D. marginata, and D. sanderiana are popular as houseplants.
[edit] References and external links
- Waterhouse, J. T. 1987. The Phylogenetic Significance of Dracaena-type growth. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 109: 129-128.
- Socotra botany. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
