General Plant Information (Edit)
| Plant Habit: |
Tree
|
| Life cycle: |
Perennial
|
| Sun Requirements: |
Full Sun
|
| Water Preferences: |
Mesic
|
| Minimum cold hardiness: |
Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
|
| Plant Height: |
12 - 32 feet |
| Leaves: |
Evergreen
|
| Fruit: |
Edible to birds
Other: Small, fleshy green berries, maturing to black and then reddish-orange when ripe. Each berry contains 1 to 4 seeds.
|
| Flowers: |
Showy
Fragrant
|
| Flower Color: |
Green
White
|
| Bloom Size: |
Under 1"
|
| Flower Time: |
Late winter or early spring
|
| Suitable Locations: |
Xeriscapic
|
| Uses: |
Flowering Tree
Will Naturalize
|
| Resistances: |
Drought tolerant
|
| Containers: |
Needs excellent drainage in pots
|
| Conservation status: |
Vulnerable (VU)
|
- Dragon's Blood Tree
- Socotra Dragon Tree
Posted by
Baja_Costero (Baja California - Zone 11b) on Apr 16, 2017 9:43 PM concerning plant:
Exotic Socotran endemic, related to the Canary Island dragon tree D. draco (which is orders of magnitude more common in cultivation). It is hard to distinguish very young plants of the two species, but the stem on cinnabari is much thicker once it is a few inches tall.
Grows fabulous wide canopies with advanced age. Enjoys extreme exposure. Drought tolerant. Experiences regular fog in habitat.
One of a few trees that make a red resin called dragon's blood, which has been collected by humans for millennia. This species makes the "true" dragon's blood used by the Romans, and traded along with resins from Boswellia and Commiphora (aka frankincense and myrrh). It is actually closer genetically to D. serrulata (the Arabian dragon tree) than it is to the similar looking D. draco.
Notes on the species name: cinnabar is a red ore containing mercury sulfide. It was the historic source of vermillion pigment and is the principal source of elemental mercury.
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