Dracaena (Dracaena) – indoor flower in the form of a palm tree

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Dracaena (Dracaena) is a genus of trees and succulent shrubs of the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), naturally grows mainly in the tropics of Africa and on the surrounding islands, 2-3 species in South America. Some dracaena are used as decorative leafy crops in rooms and greenhouses.

  • Family: Asparagus.
  • Homeland: tropical Africa
  • Rhizome: roots thin, smooth.
  • Stem: depending on the species, thick lignified or thin bare.
  • Leaves: linear.
  • Fruit: berry.
  • Reproductive capacity: propagated by cuttings or seeds.
  • Illumination: shade-tolerant.
  • Watering: plentiful in summer, moderate in winter.
  • Content temperature: thermophilic.
  • Flowering time: very rare, once every 10-12 years

Dracaena: a description of the plant from the roots to the very tips of the leaves with a photo

The genus includes more than 100 species, which can be divided into 2 groups: shrubs and trees.

Dracaena trees grow in arid semi-desert areas. They have powerful lignified trunks and numerous branches located in the upper part with hard sessile wrapping leaves. Some species secrete a specific resinous juice, which, when exposed to air, acquires a blood-red color and is called “dragon blood” by the locals. Members of this group include:

The famous dragon trees (D. Draco) , growing in the Canary Islands, in Ethiopia, Somalia, the Cape Verde Islands;

Dracaena cinnabar red (D. Cinnabary) from the island of Socotra;

Tree (D. arborea) from the tropics of East Africa.

Below are photos of dracaena dragon tree and cinnabar red.

Dragon tree in the photo

Cinnabar-red dracaena in the photo

These relic plants of the Cretaceous period are not trees in the full sense of the word, they are shrubs with erect stems that become woody and wide with age, after flowering they begin to branch, with each branch ending with a bunch of leaves. The flowering itself comes late, at 8-10, and sometimes 25-30 years. After the first flowering, the trunk of the dracaena thickens significantly, and further adds 2-3 cm per year. The specimens growing in nature are gigantic in size. The largest is currently considered a dragon tree growing on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands), it reaches 8 m in trunk girth, 21 m in height. Home dracaena of this species are much more compact, do not exceed 150 cm in height.

Tree-like dracaena – plants – centenarians, although the absence of annual rings on the trunks makes it difficult to accurately determine the age. It was previously believed that they could live up to 6000-9000 years, however, according to the latest data, the oldest known representative, the dragon tree, from the island of Tenerife, who died as a result of the 1868 hurricane, was about 600 years old.

Shrub varieties grow in the undergrowth of tropical forests, they are much smaller in size, have slender stems and flexible, belt-like linear leaves, are very decorative, and are often grown in indoor culture.

The leaves of dracaena, both shrubby and treelike, sessile, without petioles, leathery, with clearly visible parallel veins, monochromatic green, grayish-green or variegated color, spirally twisting or whorled along the entire length of the trunk. In many members of the family, they grow in a bunch at the top, which is why the plants look like a palm tree. Dracaena of this type, when grown in a pot culture, are often called house palms .

Unlike leaves, dracaena flowers do not represent decorative value, primarily because they appear every 10-12 years or even less often. In most species, they are pink, greenish or white, collected in a paniculate inflorescence, open at night, have a strong smell, sometimes pleasant, often heavy. They secrete a large amount of nectar, which in nature attracts insects, mainly night butterflies, the main pollinators of the plant. The dracaena flower is bisexual, with a perianth reaching 45 mm in length, its individual segments are often connected into a tube that is one third of the length of the corolla. It has a three-celled ovary, one ovule is formed in each nest. Dracaena seeds are round, pea-like in appearance, with a very hard shell. In green-leaved forms at home, under the condition of artificial insemination, mature dracaena seeds suitable for propagation can be obtained.

The roots of dracaena are smooth, have a club-shaped shape, yellow-red color on the cut, and are distinguished by the absence of overgrowth.

Dracaena plant: history and legends

The exotic appearance of the plant gave rise to many legends among different peoples of the world. The scientific name “Dracaena”, which means “female dragon”, is based on an Indian legend, according to which in ancient times on the island of Socotra, located in the northwestern Indian Ocean, there lived a huge dragon that attacked the elephants living there and drank their blood. . One day, an old powerful elephant, defending himself from a dragon, fell on him and crushed him with the weight of his body. The blood of the two giants mixed on the ground around the place of the battle, and after a while there grew trees called dracaena. When the trunk is damaged, blood-red spots of resin appear on them, which the inhabitants of the island call “cinnabar” or “the blood of two brothers”, and the trees themselves – cinnabar-red dracaena.

Dracaena in the photo

For the first time, these original plants became known to Europeans in 1420, when the island of Tenerife from the Canary Islands archipelago was discovered. It was there that a giant dracaena tree, 23 m high, with a trunk girth of about 15 m, grew. The locals considered it sacred, inside there was a hollow in which they placed the altar.

Several species of dracaena grow in Central and South America, where there is also a legend about them. According to the Aztec legend, the young warrior wanted to marry the daughter of the high priest, but his father was against it, and ordered the young man to water a stick stuck in the ground for 5 days. If she leaves, the lovers will be able to be together, if not, the young warrior will die. And a miracle happened, leaves appeared, dracaena grew from a stick. The high priest was forced to agree to the marriage of his daughter, and people began to call the dracaena “the tree of happiness.” Until now, there is a belief that if you cut off part of the dracaena trunk at midnight during the full moon, it will bring happiness in love.

The use of dracaena

Some types of dracaena growing in the tropics of Africa, on the islands of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, are used as industrial crops. Their resin contains the pigments dracorubin and dracocarmine, which determine its specific red color, it hardens in air, acquiring a glassy consistency. Until recently, this resin, also called “dragon’s blood”, was the main export item on the islands of Tenerife and Socotra. It is used to produce paint for fabrics and hair, varnish for metals, residents of areas where the culture grows, use the juice to tint wine, and also, in folk medicine, to treat diseases of the skin and stomach. Hard leaves contain elastic fibers, brushes and ropes are made from them.

The exotic appearance, unpretentiousness and ease of propagation have made the plant a popular indoor flower. Dracaena of various types, both tree-like and bushy, fit well into the interiors of service and residential premises, they have decorative, often colorfully colored leaves, spectacular thin or tree-like trunks, and can be grown as standard trees, resembling palm trees in appearance. This culture is easy to care for, propagated by segments of trunks that retain their ability to reproduce for a long time, they can even be sent over long distances. In addition, dracaena indoor flowers are one of the few plants that purify the air of such toxic substances as formaldehydes and benzene, emitted, for example, by linoleum, and also neutralize exhaust gases. It is believed that this flower relieves depression, calms and improves mood. A variety of species allow you to choose a plant for any interior, large tree-like specimens – for office space , more compact bush – for growing in an apartment .

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