Tenerife Dragon Tree: A Woody Plant of Ancient Lineage Becomes the Canary Islands' Icon

The Tenerife Dragon Tree also answers to the names of:

• Canary Islands Dragon Tree;
• Cape Verde Dragon Tree;
• Madeira Dragon Tree;
• Morocco Dragon Tree;
• Porto Santo Dragon Tree.

The name indeed clarifies the tree’s native range. The tree is native to certain Atlantic Ocean coastlines and islands. Specifically, its homelands occur in the dry, rocky, sunlit slopes of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco ( المغرب , al-Maghrib) and of Macaronesia:

• Canary Islands (Las Islas Canarias), Spain;
• Cape Verde Islands (As Ilhas de Cabo Verde);
• Madeira Island (A Ilha da Madeira), Portugal;
• Porto Santo Island (A Ilha do Porto Santo), Portugal.

The Tenerife Dragon Tree also can be called the Azores Dragon Tree. It is not native to the Azores Islands (As Ilhas dos Açores). It instead represents a woody plant successfully introduced and naturalized into Portugal’s islands in the mid-North Atlantic Ocean.

Tenerife Dragon Trees likewise do not look to Blue Chaffinches for natural propagation. According to  author Lance Chilton, tradition maintains that germination requires jump-starting by passing the tree’s seeds through the digestive tracts of now-extinct, large, “flightless, dodolike” pigeons (Chilton, “Dragon trees on La Palma, Canary Islands”). But Lance reports no record of such birds anywhere in Macaronesia. He further reveals that seeds germinate successfully independent of avian or human interventions.

The Tenerife Dragon Tree attains its maximum age by surviving the three stages in its above-ground growth. The first stage begins with growing the trunk. It closes 10 to 15 years later with terminal buds flowering at the trunk's top.

The second stage commences a succession of 10 to 15-year intervals whose beginning involves flowering, fruiting and seeding. The flower is a branching, sweet-smelling green or pink-white cluster. The fruit is a coral, orange-brown or orange-red, sweettasting berry slightly smaller than a cherry. The white seed may germinate within 28 days.

The third stage signals the canopy's formation from green, overlapping, prickly leaves.

The Tenerife Dragon Tree naturally belongs in a subtropical climate. In its native environment, it expects the conditions which prevail on islands located between the world's temperate and the tropical climate zones. It therefore is adept at  handling:

• High levels of heat and light;
• Low levels of moisture, nutrients and rainfall;
• Natural dispersion of seeds by wildlife and wind;
• Regular drainage of alkaline, gravelly, rocky soils which may be as high in calcium as they are low in nitrogen.

But cultivators, gardeners, and plant collectors and enthusiasts do not need to feel discouraged or dispirited if they do not live on islands or within subtropical climate zones. The Tenerife Dragon Tree in fact is an adaptable survivor as a native plant in its natural environment and as an introduced plant outside its native range. Its growing needs indeed will be met with its owner's careful attention to and cautious provision of:

• Above-freezing temperatures;
• Complete, time-release, watersoluble fertilizer applications 1 to 2 times yearly, in fall and in spring;
• 4 to 6 hours of daily sunlight;
• Non-waterlogging, well-drained soil;
• Supplemental watering at the rate of about 1 inch (2.54 centimeter) 1 to 2 times monthly.

Whether native or naturalized, wild or cultivated, the Tenerife Dragon Tree can weather many environmental stresses. It especially rises to the challenges of alkaline, arid, bright, and/or nutrient-poor environments. But it will find its survival compromised at home and abroad when confronted with:

• Competition over intensive land use from agroindustry and construction;
• Prolonged experiences with the nibbling of its seeds by small mammals and of its seedlings by such grazing mammals as goats and rabbits;
• Protracted exposure to heavy flooding, rainfall, surface run-off, and/or waterlogging;
• Proximity to controlled burns and wildfires.

Otherwise, Tenerife Dragon Trees will be expected to outlive their owners by hundreds of years.

Ancient and modern uses generally can be characterized as unchanging for the Tenerife Dragon Tree. Since the fifteenth century, the tree contributes to three key societal concerns. Specifically, its role is defined as;

• Aesthetic;
• Medicinal;
• Ritualistic.

In all regards, the tree's role is carried out through its resin. The resin is produced from wounding the bark and/or leaves. It runs a red color which is likened to that of the dragon blood spilled in the Garden of the Hesperides.

According to ancient Greek beliefs, the 100-headed dragon named Ladon guarded the garden's entrance. The heroic Hercules had to retrieve three golden apples from the garden as the eleventh of twelve tasks which he was charged to accomplish. He realized his quest, but was forced to kill Ladon in the process. From Ladon's blood sprouted the world's dragon trees.

The aesthetics of attractive, bright,  garnet red color can be appreciated. Since ancient times, the resin cooperates as a stain and varnish for furniture and objects made of wood. For example, the resin's red colorant 7,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-flavylium (dracoflavylium) produces the incomparable look of the Stradivarius violin. For another example, the resin also serves to color:

• Paste;
• Plaster;
• Textiles;
• Toothpaste. 

The resin's medicinal use arose from its color and its supposed origins. Traditional medical practitioners indeed linked the resin's color to that of the blood which was spilled in the tree's creation. They therefore used the resin to treat such problems with blood flow as:

• Chest pains;
• Internal bleeding, irregularity or trauma;
• Wounds.

The resin came to be used ritualistically for:

• Embalming;
• Incense.

It dried into an attractive garnet red powder. The powder's burning was dramatically fragrant.

In modern times, two other uses can be added. The resin is used in photoengraving. The tree also serves as a drought-tolerant ornamental tree in sustainable landscapes.

Of all its attributes, aesthetic, commercial, and medicinal, Tenerife dragon's tree most cherished would seem to be the inspirational aesthetics of its enduring presence in the oceanic landscape. Prehistorically Tenerife's dragon trees were revered by the resplendent island's aboriginal Berber inhabitants, the Guanches (Guan, "person" + Chinet, native name for Tenerife), whose migration from North Africa is dated to around 1000 B.C.E. or even earlier. Myth, prehistory, history, and future are all represented in this long-lived, ubiquitous woody plant with its ancient lineage. In a paradise thriving with an exciting profusion of diverse, unique fauna and flora, Dracaena draco emerges as a treasured icon, not only of Tenerife, but of the entire archipelago.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Tenerife dragon tree in its native Canary Islands' landscape
Puntagorda, La Palma, northwestern Canary Islands; Saturday, September 3, 2005, 20:55: Zyance, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drago_z02.jpg

Map of Canary Islands shows eight main islands and three of the archipelago's small islands or islets.
Main islands increased to eight with promotion of La Graciosa ("Graceful") from islet to island in 2018.
Dracaena draco is associated with Tenerife (center), the archipelago's largest island.: Oona Räisänen (Mysid), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_the_Canary_Islands.svg

Canary Island dog (Presa Canario); Friday, June 4, 2004, 16:58: Steffen H. Wohnort (Caronna), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dogo_Canario_bearb.jpg

Tenerife dragon trees, Santa Cruz de Tenerife harbor; Thursday, January 2, 2003, 12:10: Foxbasealpha at English Wikipedia, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SantaCruzHarbour.jpg

Tenerife symbols: Pico del Tiede (background) and Roque Cinchado (foreground)
Parque Nacional del Teide, Tenerife: Christian Abend, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Teide2007.jpg

Blue Chaffinches (Fringilla teydea), passerine finches, are endemic to outer Canary Islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
male blue chaffinch: Bartkauz, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Teidefink.jpg

female blue chaffinch: bartkauz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teidefinkweibchen.JPG

Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis); pine species endemic to outer Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Hierro and La Palma)
Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) forest, Caldera de Taburiente, La Palma, Canary Islands: JuVlai, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_canariensis_forest_Caldera_de_Taburiente_4.jpg

A sparse, stark, rocket-style profile may characterize a Dracaena draco that is young or one that simply grows straight up, without flowering or forking.
dragon tree in courtyard of traditional 17th century house, now Casa Museo León y Castillo, Arucas, northern Gran Canaria: Raycojimenezg, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_Museo_León_y_Castillo_Patio.jpg

forking trunk of Tenerife dragon tree: Zyance, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drago_z05.jpg

"This tree is said to have been revered by the Guanches as the ash of Ephesus was by the Greeks" (A. von Humboldt in W. Macgillivray, p. 41)
Described In June 1799 by Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt as 60 feet high with a circumference of 48 feet, the tree lost one-third of its crown in 1819 tempest and finally was felled by c.1867 storm (Élie Metchnikoff, 1908, p. 96-98).
La Orotava dragon tree in Mr Franqui's garden; William MacGillivray, Travels and Researches (1833), p. 42: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19195362

1852 illustration of young dragon's blood tree
C. Lemaire, Le jardin fleuriste, vol. 2 (1852), Planche 124: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59117904

Dragoniers à différents âges (Dracaena draco Dragon Tree at Different Ages), Casa de Franchy, La Orotava, northern Tenerife; British artist J.J. Williams, illustrator; Félix Achille Saint-Aulaire (1801-1889), lithographer
great Orotava Dragon Tree 1790 (left, with ladder): great Orotava Dragon Tree 1830 (55 feet [16.7 mtrs] circumference at ground level); July 21, 1819, storm damage commemorative plaque (right)
P. Barker Webb and S. Berthelot, Histoire naturelle des Iles Canaries Atlas (1838), Facies Plate 8, page 40: CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via ECHO-Max Planck Institute for the History of Science @ https://echo.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/ECHOdocuView?url=/permanent/humboldt/webb_histo_fr_01_1838/index.meta&pn=40&ww=0.3644&wh=0.3644&wy=0.6213; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berthelot_drago_franchy.jpg

Millenial Dragon Tree (Drago Milenario)
Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife: Miguel303xm, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drago-icod.jpg

infructescence (fruiting stage) of flowering Tenerife dragon tree
Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife; Sunday, March 27, 2011, 12:49: Quartl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Dracaena_draco_qtl1.jpg

Dracaena draco bark
Botanischer Garten Bochum, northwest Germany: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dracaena_draco_1_ies.jpg

skin of Dracaena draco trunk
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, 16:58: Zyance, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drago_z07.jpg

Greek mythology's fearsome dragon Ladon is depicted on gate of Barcelona's Finca Güell, built 1884-1887, by Catalan architect extraordinaire Antoni Gaudí (June 25, 1852–June 10, 1926).
Ladon, from whose blood sprouted the world's dragon trees; Saturday, September 13, 2008, 18:52: SBA73, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pavellons_de_la_Finca_Güell_(Barcelona)_-_1.jpg; SBA73, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3210064288/in/pool-wikilovesmonumentscat

At bases of dead leaves of Dracaena draco is "dragon's blood," red resin, reputedly used on Stradivarius violins.
Ganna Walska Lotusland botanical garden, Cold Spring Road, Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California Central Coast: Sharktopus, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikmedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DracaenaDracoLeaves.jpg

formerly a source of admiration and awe, now a hallowed memory: La Orotava dragon tree as it was, flourishing before storm of 1819, persevering for five decades afterward, then succumbing ca. 1867-1868
illustration after drawing by Sabin Berthelot (April 4, 1794 - November 10, 1880)
C. Lemaire, Le Jardin Fleuriste (1852), Planche 124: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dracaena_draco_Dragonnier_avant_1819.jpg

importance and appreciation of Dracaena draco: La Orotava's coat of arms on stained glass window in hall of City of La Orotava
Design of La Orotava's coat of arms recognizes the city as location of mythological Garden of Hesperides, site of Eleventh Labor of Hercules.
window in City Hall (el Ayuntamiento), La Orotava, northern coast of Tenerife; Sunday, June 18, 2006, 00:59: Christian Köppchen (Koppchen), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orotava_Ayuntamiento_04.jpg

Three Tenerife natives
Multiply-forked, leafy crowned Canary Islands dragon tree (Dracaeno draco) thrives to right (right background) of Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis; mid-foreground), as Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) shoots upward (left background).
Cueva de Belmaco, eastern La Palma, northwestern Canary Islands; Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 12:41:51: Jose Mesa (Mataparda), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/liferfe/135066953/

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• Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library at: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33478247

Barker-Webb, Phillip, and Sabine Berthelot. Histoire Naturelle des Iles Canaries. Tomes I - III. Paris: Béthune, éditeur, 1836-1850.

• Available via HathiTrust at: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009547565

Barker-Webb, Phillip, and Sabine Berthelot. Histoire Naturelle des Ile Canaries. Atlas. Paris: Béthune, éditeur, MDCCCXXXVIII (1838).

• Available via ECHO- Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte at: https://echo.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/ECHOdocuView?url=/permanent/humboldt/webb_histo_fr_01_1838/index.meta&pn=1
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• Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library at: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59117869
• Available via HathiTrust at: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044106335771
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• Available via Internet Archive at:  http://archive.org/details/prolongationofli00metciala

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