Red-edged Dragon Tree

The Red-edged Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata) is native to Madagascar and some nearby islands. Some authors consider this species a mere variety of  the Madagaskar Dragon Tree (Dracaena reflexa), but it leaves have such a distinctive reddish edge to them that it merits a seperate species.

The leaves are long, linear, narrow, attached to the stem without a stalk. The stems or trunks usually are unbranched when young, eventually branching when mature to form spreading, vase-shaped trees. The white flowers of the Red-edged Dragon Tree are small and fragrant. They are followed by yellow-orange berries.

The first part of its scientific name, Dracaena, is a feminine form of the Greek word drakon and therefore means 'female dragon'. The second part, marginata, is from the Latin margo which means 'the border' and thus signifies the red bordered leaves.
The beautiful leaves of the Red-edged Dragon Tree are the main reason that this species is also a popular house plant. It is no wonder then that a number of cultivars are currently available. 'Tarzan' is similar to the species but with larger leaves, slower growth and supposedly more reluctance to drop its old leaves. 'Magenta' has wider and darker marginal stripes on top of the green. 'Bicolor' is a slower-growing variety with mostly cream-colored leaves, which have green and pink stripes. 'Colorama' has leaves that are pinkish red with a few green stripes underneath. New growth on 'Colorama' is sometimes slightly cream-colored.