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Dracaena (plant)

 
Dracaena (plant)

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Dracaena (plant)



 
 
Dracaena (romanized form of the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 d???a??a - drakaina, "female dragon") is a genus of about 40 species of tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s and succulent
Succulent plant

Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climate or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaf, Plant stem and/or roots....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s classified in the family Ruscaceae
Ruscaceae

Ruscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales that includes several genera previously included in the Liliaceae, for example in the Cronquist system....
 in the APG II system, or, according to some treatments, separated (sometimes with Cordyline) into a family of their own, Dracaenaceae or in the Agavaceae
Agavaceae

Agavaceae is a family of plants that includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Yucca brevifolia. The family includes about 550-600 species in around 18 genus, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
.






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Encyclopedia


Dracaena Reflexa
Luckybamboo 2005 Seanmcclean
Dracaena (romanized form of the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
 d???a??a - drakaina, "female dragon") is a genus of about 40 species of tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s and succulent
Succulent plant

Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climate or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaf, Plant stem and/or roots....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s classified in the family Ruscaceae
Ruscaceae

Ruscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales that includes several genera previously included in the Liliaceae, for example in the Cronquist system....
 in the APG II system, or, according to some treatments, separated (sometimes with Cordyline) into a family of their own, Dracaenaceae or in the Agavaceae
Agavaceae

Agavaceae is a family of plants that includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Yucca brevifolia. The family includes about 550-600 species in around 18 genus, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
. The majority of the species are native in Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, with a few in southern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 and one in tropical Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
. The segregate genus Pleomele is now generally included in Dracaena. The genus Sanseviera is closely related, and has recently been synonymized under Dracaena in the Kubitzki system
Kubitzki system

A list of systems of plant taxonomy, the Kubitzki system was published inThe system is important as being a comprehensive, multivolume treatment of the vascular plants, with descriptive treatments of all families and genera, mostly by specialists in those groups....
.

Dracaena have a secondary thickening meristem
Meristem

A meristem is the biological tissue in all plants consisting of undifferentiated cells and found in zones of the plant where growth can take place....
 in their trunk. This monocotyledonous secondary thickening meristem is quite different from 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
Agavaceae

Agavaceae is a family of plants that includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Yucca brevifolia. The family includes about 550-600 species in around 18 genus, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
 and Xanthorrhoeaceae
Xanthorrhoeaceae

Xanthorrhoeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the wiktionary:circumscription of the family has varied wildly....
 among other related families.

Species


They can be divided into two groups based on their growth habits:
  1. A group of tree-size species with stout trunks and stiff, broad-based leaves, growing in arid semi-desert
    Désert

    ?D?sert? is ?milie Simon's debut single, released in October 2002. The song was a huge success both critically and commercially in her homeland....
     areas, and known as dragon trees.
  2. A group of smaller, shrubby species with slender stems and flexible strap-shaped leaves, growing as understorey plants in rainforest
    Rainforest

    Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
    s (and very popular as houseplant
    Houseplant

    A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as House and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes and health reasons such as indoor air purification....
    s), and known collectively as shrubby dracaenas.
Dragon trees
  • Dracaena americana - Central America Dragon Tree
  • Dracaena arborea - Tree Dracaena
  • Dracaena cinnabari
    Dracaena cinnabari

    The Dracaena cinnabari tree is a Dracaena native to the Socotra archipelago. It is also referred to as the "Dragon Blood Tree" and "Socotra Dragon Tree"....
     - Socotra Dragon Tree
  • Dracaena draco
    Dracaena draco

    Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands Dragon Tree or Drago isa subtropical Dracaena native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, Azores, and locally in western Morocco....
     - Canary Islands Dragon Tree
  • Dracaena ombet - Gabal Elba Dragon Tree


Shrubby dracaenas
  • Dracaena aletriformis
  • Dracaena bicolor
  • Dracaena cincta
  • Dracaena concinna
  • Dracaena elliptica
  • Dracaena deremensis
    Dracaena deremensis

    Dracaena deremensis is a tropical shrub of the Dracaena genus. Dracaena deremensis grows as an 8 to 12 feet unbranched rosette of evergreen leaves, though some cultivars are variegated in a white to grey-green color....
  • Dracaena fragrans
    Dracaena fragrans

    Dracaena fragrans is a flowering plant species in the family Ruscaceae, that resembles a corn stalk in habitus. It is native to West Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia....
     - Striped Dracaena, Compact Dracaena, corn plant, Cornstalk Dracaena
  • Synonym: Dracaena deremensis


  • Dracaena goldieana
  • Dracaena hookeriana
  • Dracaena mannii
  • Dracaena marginata
    Dracaena marginata

    Dracaena marginata is a flowering plant in the family Ruscaceae, native to Madagascar. It is a slow-growing shrub or small tree, eventually reaching heights of 2-5 m....
     - Red-edged Dracaena or Madagascar Dragon Tree
  • Dracaena marmorata
  • Dracaena phrynioides
  • Dracaena reflexa
    Dracaena reflexa

    Dracaena reflexa, commonly called Pleomele or the Song of India, is a species of Dracaena ; a tropics tree native to Madagascar, Mauritius, and other nearby islands of the Indian Ocean....
     - Pleomele Dracaena or "Song of India"
  • Dracaena sanderiana
    Dracaena sanderiana

    Dracaena sanderiana, known as Ribbon Dracaena, Lucky Bamboo, Belgian Evergreen or sometimes Ribbon Plant, is a species of Dracaena , native to Cameroon in tropical west Africa....
     - Ribbon Dracaena, marketed as "Lucky Bamboo"
  • 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
Cordyline

Cordyline is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants classified in Asparagaceae or alternatively the segregate family Laxmanniaceae, in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, but placed by other authors in Agavaceae or Lomandraceae....
.

Uses

A bright red resin, dragon's blood
Dragon's blood

Dragon's blood is a bright red resin that is obtained from different species of a number of distinct plant genera: Croton , Dracaena , Daemonorops, Calamus rotang and Pterocarpus....
, 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 houseplant
Houseplant

A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as House and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes and health reasons such as indoor air purification....
s. Rooted stem cuttings of D. sanderiana are widely marketed in the U.S.A. as "Lucky Bamboo", although only superficially resembling true bamboo
Bamboo

The bamboos are a group of woody perennial plant evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae....
s.