dracaena
( druh - SEE - nuh )
Dracaena Species and Varietals
The genus Microsorum includes 120 species, and is a member of the plant family Polypodiaceae. To find your zone, click here: Zone Map.
Dracaena americana (Central American Dragon Tree, Candlewood) This species is native to South America and reaches about 40 feet tall in its natural habitat. Green, strappy leaves are soft and borne along stems. Flowers are cream-white and bloom in springtime. Fruits are yellow to red in color, and appear in fall after blooms have faded away. Cultivated as an ornamental. |
Dracaena angolensis (Sanseveria cylindrica) (African Spear, Spear Sanseveria) This succulent plant is native to South Africa, and was recently added to the Dracaena genus from Sanseveria. Leaves are cylindrical, smooth, and greenish-grey, sprouting from a basal rosette, and have light green striping. Flowers are greenish-yellow, tubular, and slender., appearing along the flower stalk. |
Dracaena arborea (Tree Dracaena) This species is native to central and west tropical Africa, and is used as a street tree in many areas in Africa and Brazil. These trees can reach 100 feet tall, and has a greyish trunk. Leaves are green and strappy, and flowers produced bloom on large panicles. These trees are planted around burial sites to demarcate boundaries, and are also used as landscape ornamentals. |
Dracaena ballyi This species of succulent plant is native to Tanzania and Kenya, and produces a small rosette of green leaves that are banded with color and have sharp tips. This species was originally collected by Peter Bally in 1963 and was named for him. These plants are widely cultivated as indoor specimens. |
Dracaena braunii This species of flowering plant was named after its collector, Johannes Braun. These plants are commonly confused with Dracaena sanderiana, or Lucky Bamboo. These plants form extensive, thick carpets and occasional shrublets with flat green leaves. Roots are bright orange-red in color. |
Dracaena cinnabari (Socotra Dragon Tree, Dragon Blood Tree) This species is native to Yemen, and forms an umbrella-shaped tree that reaches between 30 and 40 feet tall at maturity. The common name Dragon Blood Tree refers to the red sap that the trees produce. These are very interesting trees; all leaves are shed simultaneously every 3-4 years, and a whole new canopy of leaves is produced. |
Dracaena fragrans (Cornstalk Dracaena, Striped Dracaena, Compact Dracaena, Corn Plant) This species of Dracaena is native to tropical Africa, and forms a slow-growing, multi-stemmed shrub that can reach 50 feet tall or more at maturity. Leaves are glossy and green, and flowers are white. Plants will branch each time flowering fades, forming new branches at tips where blooms were. Flowers are white and fragrant, and fruit that follows is shiny and white to pink. |
Dracaena draco (Canary Islands Dragon Tree, Drago) This tree is native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, Morocco, and the Azores. This evergreen tree species has rough bark and for the first 10-15 years of its life is a single-stalked plant. At the end of this period, it produces a flower spike that is followed by coral berries. The plant then begins to grow into a canopy tree, producing branches after flowering periods. It is a slow-grower, commonly taking around 10 years to reach just 4 feet tall. |
Dracaena eilensis (Sanseveria eilensis) This interesting succulent species is native to a very small region in Somalia near the town of Eyl. Leaves are light blue green, typically with striping. Mature plants have 2-3 leaves marked with longitudinal lines that mark where leaves will fold in or swell in response to drought or water saturation. |
Dracaena ellenbeckiana These plants reach about 6.5-26 feet tall at maturity. They are very drought-tolerant, dealing with alternating years of dry and wet weather in their native range (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda). Often seen as a multitrunked tree with trunks sprouting from a central point. Great as a houseplant. |
Dracaena hanningtonii (Sanseveria ehrenbergii) (Blue Sanseveria, Sword Sanseveria, Oldupai, East African Wild Sisal) This species is native to eastern Africa's tropical areas. These plants form a fan-shaped row of foliage sprouting from a central point. Leaves are green. These plants form offsets, which grow into new plants and create a dense cluster of foliage close to the ground. Individual plants reach about 3-4 feet tall. |
Dracaena masoniana (Sanseveria masoniana) (Whale Fin Dracaena, Shark's Fin, Whale Fin, Mason's Congo) This species of low-growing Dracaena is native to Africa, and is commonly grown as a houseplant due to its striking blue-green foliage. As an indoor plant, these are commonly grown as one stiff leaf in a pot, and require bright filtered light and infrequent watering. |
Dracaena reflexa (Song of India, Song of Jamaica) Native to tropical areas surrounding the Indian Ocean, this species is valued as a houseplant and ornamental landscaping plant. Leaves are thick, green and evergreen, and trees can reach between 10 and 20 feet tall (in their native range), though they are commonly seen as houseplants that reach around 6 feet tall. Many varieties are available to choose from. |
Dracaena sanderiana (Lucky Bamboo, Ribbon Dracaena, Ribbon Plant, Sander's Dracaena, Goddess of Mercy's Plant, Belgian Evergreen) This commonly cultivated species is popular as a houseplant, and is regularly sold as bare-root specimens in water. Keep out of direct sunlight, as leaves can burn. If planted in the ground, these plants will lose their bamboo look and take on a more classic Dracaena appearance with strappy leaves. |
Dracaena surculosa (Gold Dust Dracaena, Spotted Dracaena) This species of Dracaena is native to west and west-central Africa. It takes the form of a branched small tree with green or variegated flat leaves (depending on the varietal). Flowers are greenish white. Fruits that follow blooms are red to orange, shiny and round. A popularly grown variety is 'Florida Beauty'. |
Dracaena trifasciata (Sanseveria trifasciata) (Snake Plant, Saint George's Sword, Mother-In-Law's Tongue, Viper's Bowstring Hemp)
This species was formerly the type species for Sanseveria, a genus whose entire species list was moved into Dracaena in 2017. These plants are commonly kept houseplants, and are easy to care for, requiring little light and water to survive. They spread via creeping rhizome, sometimes located above-ground, and leaves are dark green to grey green. There are many varieties, including
This species was formerly the type species for Sanseveria, a genus whose entire species list was moved into Dracaena in 2017. These plants are commonly kept houseplants, and are easy to care for, requiring little light and water to survive. They spread via creeping rhizome, sometimes located above-ground, and leaves are dark green to grey green. There are many varieties, including
Caring for Dracaena
Propagation
Problems and Pests
Colocasia plants are susceptible to the following issues and pests:
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Gallery
Videos
Learn about these interesting houseplants.
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An educational video about Cast-Iron Plant.
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Resources
The New Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (2012) - Page
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