The Strange Dragon Blood Tree

Many beautiful, interesting, and strange plants live on our planet. One very unusual species is the Socotra Island dragon blood tree, or Dracaena cinnabari. This tree not only has a very distinctive appearance but also releases a red sap, or resin, that is known as dragon's blood. People have collected and used the resin for many years.

According to legend, the first dragon blood tree was created from the blood of a dragon that was wounded when it fought an elephant. Like the unfortunate dragon, the tree secretes its resin when it's injured. In ancient times, the resin was believed to have magical and medicinal properties. People used it as a pigment for art, a dye, and a medicine. Dragon's blood is still used for these purposes today.

Socotra Island is part of an archipelago off the coast of Yemen and Somalia. A fascinating and unique group of plants and animals live on the islands of the archipelago. Conservation of these organisms is very important for maintaining the Earth's biodiversity.

The dragon blood tree is also known as the dragon's blood tree and the Socotra dragon tree. It's an evergreen plant that is native to the islands of the Socotra archipelago. It belongs to the botanical family called the Asparagaceae, which also contains the asparagus that is eaten as a vegetable.

The crown of the tree often looks like an umbrella that has been turned inside out. The fact that the branches are bare except at their tips adds to this illusion. The long and stiff leaves are born in bunches at the ends of the branches. Some trees have more rounded crowns than others and remind me of giant mushrooms instead of umbrellas.

The branches have a rippled appearance. They develop in a very regular pattern known as dichotomous branching. In this process, each branch produces two new branches arising from the same point. The process repeats to create the base of the tree's crown.

Like the leaves, the flowers are borne at the tips of the branches. The flowers are small and greenish-white in colour. They are located in groups known as inflorescences. The fertilized flowers produce green berries that change to black as they ripen and then to orange when they are fully ripe.