Central American Dragon Tree

The discovery of Dragon Trees in the New World was not made until the waning years of the 19th century. The American Dragon Tree (Dracaena americana) can be found in dense tropical forests and thrives on areas with a hot-humid or subhumid climate, an average temperature of 26-28ºC and rainfall greater than 1,500 mm. It is endemic in countries like southern Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. It is not known from El Salvador or Nicaragua. Remarkably, the species reappears on the Pacific slope of the Andes, in Colombia. Its presence in Colombia, in the Reserva Natural La Planada, Nariño, was only established in 1990.

The American Dragon Tree is a shrub or small tree, usually with multiple stems, growing up to 10 to 12 meters tall, with a trunk up to 30 cm in diameter. The bark is grayish brown and exfoliating. Young branches bear the oblique scars of fallen leaves. In contrast to many species of Dragon Trees that bear their leaves in tufts at the apex of their stems, the American Dragon Tree bears leaves along the lengths of its stems. Leaves are linear, 20 to 35 centimeters long and 1.0 to 2.5 centimeters wide at base. They are soft, flexible and bright green in colour. The flowers are borne on short pedicels, in clusters of 2 to 5. They are creamy white and circa 7 millimeters long. The orange berries are up to 20 millimeters in diameter, sometimes lobed, and contain up to 3 seeds[1].

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, americana, obviously means '(from) America' in Latin.

It is still widely claimed that Central American Dragon Tree is the only species of Dragon Tree that is present in the Americas, but the writers are wrong: the Cuban Dragon Tree (Dracaena cubensis) was discovered on Cuba in 1942.

[1] Zona et al: Dracaena L. (Asparagaceae) in the New World: Its History and Botany – 2014. See here.