Dracaena - Revision history

Raffi at 23:29, 23 December 2009

2009-12-23T23:29:56Z

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59.96.29.188 at 11:21, 15 September 2009

2009-09-15T11:21:42Z

Raffi at 17:18, 8 December 2008

2008-12-08T17:18:07Z

Raffi at 03:19, 28 March 2007

2007-03-28T03:19:54Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Dracaena''
| image = Dracaena draco.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Dracaena draco''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Ruscaceae]] (Dracaenaceae)
| genus = '''''Dracaena'''''
| genus_authority = [[Domenico Vandelli|Vand.]] ex [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
}}
[[Image:Dracaena reflexa.JPG|thumb|240px|''Dracaena reflexa'']]
[[Image:LuckyBamboo 2005 SeanMcClean.jpg|240px|thumb|"Lucky Bamboo", ''Dracaena sanderiana'']]

'''''Dracaena''''' is a genus of about 40 species of [[tree]]s and [[succulent plant|succulent]] [[shrub]]s classified in the family '''[[Ruscaceae]]''' in the [[APG II]] system, or, according to some treatments, separated (with ''Cordyline'') into a family of their own, '''Dracaenaceae''' or in the [[Agavaceae]]. The majority of the species are native in [[Africa]] and nearby islands, with a few in southern [[Asia]] and one in tropical [[Central America]]. 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]].

''Dracaena'' have a secondary thickening [[meristem]] in their trunk. This [[monocot]]yledonous secondary thickening meristem is quite different to the thickening meristem found in [[dicot]]yledonous plants and is termed '''Dracaenoid thickening''' by some authors. This character is shared with other members of the [[Agavaceae]] and [[Xanthorrhoeaceae]] among other related families.

==Species==
They can be divided into two groups based on their growth habits:
#A group of tree-size species with stout trunks and stiff, broad-based leaves, growing in arid semi-[[desert]] areas, and known as '''dragon trees'''.
#A group of smaller, shrubby species with slender stems and flexible strap-shaped leaves, growing as understorey plants in [[rainforest]]s (and very popular as [[houseplant]]s), and known collectively as '''shrubby dracaenas'''.
;Dragon trees
* ''[[Dracaena americana]]'' - Central America Dragon Tree
* ''[[Dracaena arborea]]'' - Tree Dracaena
* ''[[Dracaena cinnabari]]'' - Socotra Dragon Tree
* ''[[Dracaena draco]]'' - Canary Islands Dragon Tree
* ''[[Dracaena ombet]]'' - Gabal Elba Dragon Tree

;Shrubby dracaenas
* ''[[Dracaena aletriformis]]''
* ''[[Dracaena bicolor]]''
* ''[[Dracaena cincta]]''
* ''[[Dracaena concinna]]''
* ''[[Dracaena elliptica]]''
* ''[[Dracaena fragrans]]'' - Striped Dracaena, Compact Dracaena, corn plant
:* Synonym: ''Dracaena deremensis''
* ''[[Dracaena goldieana]]''
* ''[[Dracaena hookeriana]]''
* ''[[Dracaena mannii]]''
* ''[[Dracaena marginata]]'' - Red-edged Dracaena or Madagascar Dragon Tree
* ''[[Dracaena marmorata]]''
* ''[[Dracaena phrynioides]]''
* ''[[Dracaena reflexa]]'' - Pleomele Dracaena or "Song of India"
* ''[[Dracaena sanderiana]]'' - 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]]''.

==Uses==
A bright red resin, [[dragon's blood]], 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]]s. Rooted stem cuttings of ''D. sanderiana'' are widely marketed in the U.S.A. as "Lucky Bamboo", although only superficially resembling true [[bamboo]]s.

==References and external links==
*Waterhouse, J. T. 1987. The Phylogenetic Significance of ''Dracaena''-type growth. ''Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W.'' 109: 129-128.
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/soqotra/misty/page01.html Socotra botany]. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

[[Category:Ruscaceae]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:21, 15 September 2009
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		+	{{Inc\|
		+	Dracaena (female dragon; the dried juice supposed to resemble dragon's blood). Liliaceae. Dracena. Ornamental hothouse or stove plants, frequently with variegated leaves.
		+
		+	Often arborescent, with sword-shaped or broad lvs. mostly crowded at the summit of the st.: fls. clustered in panicles or heads, greenish-white or yellowish; perianth salver-form or campanulate; lobes 6, spreading; stamens 6: fr. a 3-celled berry. Differs from Cordy-line in having larger fls., and solitary instead of many ovules in each cell of the ovary.—About 40 tropical woody plants, a few being in cult. See Baker, Journ. Linn. Soc., vol. 14, for a monograph of the genus.
		+
		+	Dracaena Draco, of the Canaries, is the dragon tree. It reaches a height of 30 to 60 feet, branching when of great age. The dragon tree of Teneriffe, famous for centuries, was 70 feet high, and one of the oldest of known trees. See Cordyline for other names not found in this article; also for culture.
		+
		+	The following key to the cultivated species of both Dracaena and Cordyline is based upon the lvs.
		+
		+	The following are apparently not in the American trade: D. americana, Donnell Smith. Twenty to 40ft. high: lvs. linear-sword- shape, S-15 in. long, green: flu. white, small, in dense panicles. Allied to D. Draco. Cent. Amer. S.T.S. 1:207. New.—D. arborea. Link. Lvs. green, sword-shaped, dense, sessile. Gt. 40:1438; and p. 226. G.W. 8:200; 12:232.— D. Broomfieldii, Hort. Lvs. spreading or recurved, strap-shaped, undulate, sessile, deep green bordered with broad white margins. J.H. III. 33:541. G.C. III. 20:667; 23:249; 33:249 (var.) G. 27:597. G.W. 13:4.— Botanical status obscure. —D. concinna, Kunth. Lvs. oblanceolate, green, purple on the margin, green-petioled. — D. cylindrica, Hook. Lvs. linear-lanceolate, or obovate-lanceolate, bright green, spreading. B.M. 5846. —D. Eeckhantii, Hort. F.R. 4:46. Gn.W. 16:697.—D. elliptica. Thunb. Lvs. spreading, petioled, thickish, elliptic-lanceolate, glossy, acute, longitudinally striate. B.M. 4787. G.C. II. 17:261 (var. maculata).—D. ensifolia, Hort. Amer.=Dianella ensifolia. —D. kewensii, Hort. Lvs. dark green, broadly oblong-lanceolate- acute: petiole red, half as long as the blade. New Caledonia. New. May be a form of C. terminalis. G.C. III. 33:265. F.E. 15:619.— D. marginata, Lam. Lvs. sword-shaped, dense, spreading, green, margined and veined with red. G.W. 12:235.—D. marmorata. Hort. B.M. 7078.—D. phrynioides. Hook. Lvs. petioled, mostly oval, acuminate, coriaceous, spotted with yellowish white, pale beneath. B.M. 5352.—D. reflexa. Lam. Lvs. lanceolate or sword- shaped, acute, contracted into a petiole.—D. Saposchnikowi, Regel. Lvs. sword-shaped, crowded, green. Gt. 705.—D. Smithii, Baker. Lvs. large, narrowly sword-shaped, crowded, bright green. B.M. 6169.
		+
		+	Some trade names, the botanical status of which is in doubt, are the following: alba-marginata, albanensis, Alexandria, angustifolia, angustata,argenteo-striata, DeSmetiana, edmontoniensis, elefantissima, Elizabethiae, Frederica, Hendersonii, impercator, Jamesii, Janssesii, Lacourtii, Mayi, Mandaeana, Offeri, perelyares, recurva, Salmonea, Sheperdii, spectabilis. D. nova-caledonica is probably Cordyline neo-caledonica, Lindl., with bronze lvs. K. M. Wieqand.
		+
		+	}}
	{{Taxobox		{{Taxobox
	\| color = lightgreen		\| color = lightgreen

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 | color = lightgreen
 | name = ''Dracaena''
-| image = Dracaena draco.jpg
+| image = Dracaena draco-dragon tree-IMG 6371.JPG
 | image_width = 240px
 | image_caption = ''Dracaena draco''
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 [[Image:Dracaena reflexa.JPG|thumb|240px|''Dracaena reflexa'']]
 [[Image:LuckyBamboo 2005 SeanMcClean.jpg|240px|thumb|"Lucky Bamboo", ''Dracaena sanderiana'']]
 '''''Dracaena''''' is a genus of about 40 species of [[tree]]s and [[succulent plant|succulent]] [[shrub]]s classified in the family '''[[Ruscaceae]]''' in the [[APG II]] system, or, according to some treatments, separated (with ''Cordyline'') into a family of their own, '''Dracaenaceae''' or in the [[Agavaceae]]. The majority of the species are native in [[Africa]] and nearby islands, with a few in southern [[Asia]] and one in tropical [[Central America]].  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]].