10 seeds of Dracaena draco, Dragon tree

Seeds of Dracaena draco, Dragon tree

 

Dracaena Draco a subtropical tree which belongs to the family of Asparagaceae and the genus Dracaena. It is referred by other names such as the Canary Islands dragon tree or Drago. The plant has its origins in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, and locally in western Morocco, and introduced to the Azores. This tree is the natural symbol of the island of Tenerife, together with the Blue Chaffinch.

Dracaena draco when young has a solitary stem. At around 10–15 years old the stem stops developing and creates a first bloom spike with white, lily-like perfumed blossoms, trailed by coral berries. Before long a crown of terminal buds shows up and the plant begins expanding. Each branch develops for around 10–15 years and re-branches, so a develop plant has an umbrella-like propensity. It develops gradually; requiring around ten years, reaching 1.2 meters (4 ft.) in stature; however, it can develop much faster in warmer areas. Since it is a monocotyledon, it doesn't show any yearly or development rings so the age of the tree must be assessed by the quantity of stretching focuses before achieving the shade. The example called "El Drago Milenario" (the thousand-year-old mythical beast) developing at Icod de los Vinos in northwest Tenerife is the most established living plant of this species. Its age was assessed in 1975 to be around 250 years, with a limit of 365 years, not a few thousand as had recently been asserted.

The plant can also be useful in various ways; for instance; when the bark or leaves are cut they discharge a ruddy gum, one of a few wellsprings of substances known as mythical serpent's blood. Red tars from this tree contain numerous mono-and dimeric flavans that add to the red shade of the saps. Mythical beast's blood has various customary therapeutic uses, even though monster's blood acquired from Dracaena draco was not known until the fifteenth century, and examinations propose that most winged serpent's blood utilised in craftsmanship was gotten from types of the variety Daemonorops. The essential and optional plant body is the site of the secretory plant tissues that structure winged serpent's blood. These tissues incorporate ground parenchyma cells and cortex cells. Contrasts can recognise Dragon's blood from Dracaena draco and Dracaena cinnabari in 10 mixes and a predominant flavonoid DrC11 missing in Dracaena draco.

 

Cultivation from seed:

Let seeds soak with water for about 6-12 hours, then plant about 0,5cm deep into moist soil and keep at a temperature of about 25°C. It takes about 3-4 weeks until germination starts.