Dracaena (plant)

Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco) Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife

The dragon trees (Dracaena, from Greek δράκαινα, the female dragon, Syn: .. Pleomele Salisb, Terminalis Medik ) form a plant genus of the family of asparagus plants ( Asparagaceae ). The most familiar type is the Canary Dragon Tree ( Dracaena draco).

Description

Dragon trees are not real trees because they have an atypical growth in thickness; there are tree-like life forms that have a self-supporting woody stem. The stems may be branched or unbranched. Because of the special fiber connection when atypical growth in thickness of the side branches can branch only at a slight angle to the main stem (typically <35 °). The parallel venation leaves are usually sword-shaped, linear to lanceolate, but in some species, the leaf blade also be elliptical. Only a few species have a short petiole, such as Dracaena elliptica.

The terminal, eared inflorescence is usually branched. The hermaphrodite flowers are in threes, fragrant and bloom at night. The six uniform and usually whitish colored bracts ( tepals ) are cylindrical, bell-shaped or Roehrig overgrown. The corolla tube is short. There are six stamens present. The three carpels are fused into an ovary. There are trained to purple berries with one to three seeds in orange.

Systematics and distribution

In the genre of dragon trees (Dracaena ) about 50 to 150 species can be distinguished (the number varies greatly in different authors, more than 60 species, but if the species of the genus Sansevieria are only incorporated ). The genus has a very wide natural distribution in the tropics and subtropics. Most species have their home in the tropics of the Old World ( Paläotropis ), ie Asia and Africa. There are two types in the Canary Islands (Dracaena draco on Gran Canaria, La Palma and Tenerife, as well as extremely rare Dracaena tamaranae on Gran Canaria) and one kind in the southwest of Morocco (Dracaena draco subsp. Ajgal ), Central America (Dracaena americana) and Cuba (Dracaena cubensis ).

The genus Dracaena include the following types:

  • Dracaena acaulis Baker
  • Dracaena acutissima Hua
  • Dracaena adamii Hepper
  • Dracaena African montana Mildbr.
  • Dracaena aletriformis ( Haw. ) Bos, Origin: South Africa.
  • Dracaena americana Donn.Sm, Origin: Central America.
  • Dracaena angustifolia ( Medik. ) Roxb.
  • Dracaena arborea ( Willd.) Link, Origin: Western and Central Africa, Angola.
  • Dracaena aubryana Brongn. ex E.Morren, Origin: West Africa.
  • Dracaena aurea H.Mann, Origin: Hawaii.
  • Dracaena bequaertii De Wild.
  • Dracaena bicolor Hook.
  • Dracaena borneensis ( Merr. ) Jankalski
  • Dracaena brachyphylla short
  • Dracaena brachystachys Hook.f.
  • Dracaena braunii Engl, Origin: Cameroon.
  • Dracaena breviflora Ridl.
  • Dracaena bueana Engl
  • Dracaena buettneri Engl
  • Dracaena calocephala Bos
  • Dracaena Cambodiana Pierre ex Gagnep.
  • Dracaena camerooniana Baker
  • Dracaena cantleyi Baker
  • Dracaena cerasifera Hua
  • Dracaena chiniana I.M.Turner
  • Dracaena cinnabari Balf.f., Origin: Socotra.
  • Dracaena cochinchinensis ( Lour. ) S.C.Chen
  • Dracaena concinna Kunth, Origin: Mauritius.
  • Dracaena conferta Ridl.
  • Dracaena congoensis Hua
  • Dracaena cristula W.Bull
  • Dracaena cubensis Vict, home. Cuba.
  • Dracaena curtisii Ridl.
  • Dracaena cuspidata Ridl.
  • Dracaena cuspidibracteata Engl
  • Dracaena densifolia Baker
  • Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco (L.) L.) Dracaena draco subsp. ajgal Benabid & Cuzin, Origin: Morocco ( Anti-Atlas ).
  • Dracaena draco subsp. draco, Origin: Canary Islands, Cape Verde
  • Dracaena ombet subsp. ombet
  • Dracaena ombet subsp. schizantha ( Baker) Bos, Sinet, Syn Dracaena schizantha Baker
  • Dracaena reflexa var angustifolia Baker, Origin: Reunion Island.
  • Dracaena reflexa var bakeri (Scott -Elliot ) H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var brevituba H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var condensata H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var lanceolata H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var linearifolia Ayres ex Baker
  • Dracaena reflexa var nervosa H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var occidentalis H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var parvifolia Thouars ex H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var reflexa, Origin: Mauritius.
  • Dracaena reflexa var salicifolia ( usually ) Baker
  • Dracaena reflexa var subcapitata H.Perrier
  • Dracaena reflexa var subelliptica H.Perrier
  • Dracaena surculosa maculata var Hook.f.
  • Dracaena surculosa var surculosa

Swell

  • Xinqi Chen, Nicholas J. Turland: Dracaena. In: Wu Zheng -yi, Peter H. Raven (eds.): Flora of China. Volume 24: Flagellariaceae through Marantaceae, Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 2000, ISBN 0-915279-83-5, pp. 215 pdf file online ( English).
  • Walter Erhardt, Erich Götz, Nils Boedeker, Siegmund Seybold: The big walleye. Encyclopedia of plant names. Volume 2 species and varieties. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7.
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