Dragon Blood Tree (Dracaena Cinnabari): Species, Details, Facts, Pictures & More

Dragon Blood Tree is one of the iconic trees which has a large history for commercial use. The scientific name of this species is Dracaena cinnabari. It is also called a Socotra dragon tree. These plants come under the family Asparagaceae under the order Asparagales. It is endemic for the Socotra archipelago island which is a part of Yemen located near the Arabian Sea. It is also commonly known as the Socotra dragon tree or dragon blood tree because of the red saps produced by the tree. Unlike other normal trees, it has a strange and unique appearance because it looks like an open umbrella with a densely packed crown. The plants that come under the Dracaena cinnabari species are evergreen species. These plants are not like other monocot plants, as it shows its secondary level growth and the tree rings of this species resemble the growth zone. When comparing with other absorbents of Dracaena species it has a unique growth and its habitats called “dracoid habitus”. The leaves of these plants are only found at the end of the young branch and all these leaves will get matured simultaneously and shed every 3 or 4 years before the growth of new leaves.

Scientific name: Dracaena cinnabari
Conservation status: Vulnerable Encyclopedia of Life
Rank: Species
Higher classification: Dracaena
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Dracaena
Species: D. cinnabari
Height: 10 meters.

Species of Dragon Blood Tree

Dracaena Cinnabari belongs to the genus Dracaena. It has around 110 species all over the world but in these species, only six grow as a tree. Here we have listed the species that come under the genus Dracaena.

• Dracaena afromontana – Afromontane dragon tree
• Dracaena americana – Central America dragon tree
• Dracaena aletriformis (Haw.) Bos)
• Dracaena arborea – tree dracaena
• Dracaena aubryana Brongn. ex E.Morren (syn. D. thalioides)
• Dracaena aurea H.Mann
• Dracaena bicolor Hook.
• Dracaena braunii Engl.
• Dracaena bushii
• Dracaena camerooniana Baker
• Dracaena cincta
• Dracaena cinnabari Balf.f. – Socotra dragon tree
• Dracaena concinna Kunth
• Dracaena draco (L.) L. – Canary Islands dragon tree
• Dracaena ellenbeckiana – Kedong Dracaena (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda)[7][8][9]
• Dracaena elliptica
• Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl. (syn. D. deremensis) – striped dracaena, compact dracaena, corn plant, cornstalk dracaena
• Dracaena goldieana W.Bull
• Dracaena hookeriana
• Dracaena kaweesakii Wilkin & Suksathan[10]
• Dracaena mannii
• Dracaena marmorata
• Dracaena ombet – Gabal Elba dragon tree
• Dracaena phrynioides
• Dracaena reflexa Lam. – Pleomele dracaena or “Song of India”
• D. reflexa var. marginata (syn. D. marginata) – red-edged dracaena or Madagascar dragon tree
• Dracaena sanderiana Engl. – ribbon dracaena, marketed as “lucky bamboo”
• Dracaena serrulata Baker – Yemen dragon tree
• Dracaena surculosa Lindl. – spotted or gold dust dracaena. Formerly D. godseffiana
• Dracaena tamaranae – Gran Canaria dragon tree
• Dracaena umbraculifera Jacq.

Formerly regarded as Dracaena

• Asparagus asparagoides (L.) Druce (as D. medeoloides L.f.)
• Cordyline australis (G.Forst.) Endl. (as D. australis G.Forst.)
• Cordyline fruticosa (L.) A.Chev. (as D. terminalis Lam.)
• Cordyline indivisa (G.Forst.) Steud. (as D. indivisa G.Forst.)
• Cordyline obtecta (Graham) Baker (as D. obtecta Graham)
• Cordyline stricta (Sims) Endl. (as D. stricta Sims)
• Dianella ensifolia (L.) DC. (as D. ensifolia L.)
• Liriope graminifolia (L.) Baker (as D. graminifolia L.)
• Lomandra filiformis (Thunb.) Britten (as D. filiformis Thunb.)

Evolution of Dracaena Cinnabari

Scientists thought that these Dracaena Cinnabari plants were derived from the Tethyan flora of Socotra. Due to the desertification of North Africa, these trees are almost extinct and it is considered as a remnant of the Mio-Pliocene Laurasian subtropical forests.

Interesting facts about Dragon Blood Tree

• The survival of Dragon Blood Tree is entirely different from other related species. The entirely unusual shape of this tree is the main source of its survival and it can also grow in arid conditions with low amounts of soil like mountaintops. The packed crown of this tree reduces evaporation.
• These species are not dangerous when we use them in small quantities. The benefits of these trees are not yet classified as a document. The resins of these plants are used for various purposes.
• The Dragon Blood Tree can live for 650 years.
• The tree grows very slowly at a rate of about one meter (3 feet) every ten years.
• The red sap of these trees looks like bleeding. It happens by the antioxidant phenols and anti-inflammatory compounds of the plant.
• The Dragon’s blood is used for curing various skin problems like sores, bites, cuts, burns, and rashes.
• Apart from skin problems, it acts as an antivirus and wound-healer. The content of Taspine gives the power of anti-inflammatory and wound-healing to these trees.
• It is the only plant from the genus Dracaena used to form dense woodlands.

Dragon Blood Tree Images

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