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Dragon trees on La Palma, Canary Islands


The Canary dragon tree, Dracaena draco, is native to Macaronesia (Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira and Porto Santo) as Dracaena draco subspecies draco, and to Morocco as subsp. ajgal. Plants growing in the Azores were introduced.

Botanically, it is currently classified (by the Angiosperm Phyllogeny Group) as being part of the family Ruscaceae - although it has also been listed in the Dracaenaceae, Laxmanniaceae, Agavaceae and Liliaceae.

tree at IcodInitially single stemmed, the plant's trunk forks after flowering at age 10+years. The forking continues throughout its life, to produce the dramatic fractal branching and umbrella-like outlines of old trees. Because there are no annual rings, it is not possible to accurately ascertain the age of trees - in the past some of the large specimens were thought to be considerably older than they in fact were. It is possible that the famously large and somewhat senescent specimen at Icod de los Vinos in Tenerife is between 350 and 700 years old.

Trees can reach a height of 12-15m, but a specimen in Tenerife (Orotava) reached 21-23m before being blown down in a storm in 1867-68, when it was supposedly aged 6000 years.

fruit on tree in TenerifeThe flowers are small and greenish-white or pinkish-white, but in large, branching clusters; they are followed by orange-red berries containing a whitish seed. Germination takes 28+ days.

Not all of the plants on Gran Canaria are Dracaena draco - some are the island endemic Dracaena tamaranae, which is more closely related to East African and Arabian Dracaena species.

wild tree in Anaga, TenerifeSome of the D. draco plants on Tenerife are truly wild, but it is said that those now growing on La Palma and most of those on Gran Canaria were originally planted (though, personally, I believe at least some of the La Palma ones are genuinely wild). Gran Canaria has one confirmed wild plant at San Nicolás de Tolentino in the Barrance de Pino Gordo, and two subspontaneous plants at Meleguinas and at Santa Brígida in the Barrance Alonso. On Tenerife there are 25 populations, with c.445 plants in Anaga, c.162 plants at Adeje and c.84 in Teno, plus 2 at Guía de Isora, and individuals at Barranco de Badajoz, Güímar and Barranco de Niágara.

There is a single specimen on La Gomera, above Alajeró (and known as the Drago de Agalán or Drago de Magaña), which though large and old, is believed to have been planted. However, the name of the hamlet of El Drago to the west may indicate the presence of more native trees in the area in the historic past. Sadly the Gomeran tree has been enclosed by a fence since the late 1990s, though it is hard to say whether this is to keep the public out or the tree in.

Plants found in inaccessible areas of Morocco (at Jbel Imzi and Adad Medni in the western Anti-Atlas Mountains), in 1996, have been separated as subsp. ajgal (the local name). The population of the Moroccan subspecies, despite being unknown to the outside world until 12 years ago, considerably outnumbers the total islands' population of the type subspecies. Some of the African trees are reportedly up to 20m tall.

In the Cape Verde it is found on the islands of Fogo, San Nicolau, and Santo Antão, and is extinct as a wild plant on Brava and Santiago. Only on San Nicolau does it now grow other than on inaccessible cliffs. One of the larger specimens on San Nicolau is at 16°38'9.68"N 24°21'12.84"W.

Once fairly abundant, Dracaena in Macaronesia is in decline. The wild population in Madeira is now down to a small handful. Problems include slow growth, lack of regeneration, and the vulnerability of old, large specimens to storm damage. Dracaena draco subsp. draco in the islands is officially classified as Vulnerable, and D. tamaranae in Gran Canaria is classified as Critically Endangered, with just 76 individuals surviving, of which only 12 are adult.

prolific seedlings at El ZumacalSeveral websites state that the dragon tree seed only germinated after it had passed through the digestive system of a flightless, dodo-like pigeon - a bird which is now extinct, hence the current rarity of the trees. I can find no published evidence of the existence of any large flightless bird in the Canary Islands, and it would appear the myth is based on the supposed symbiosis between the actual dodo and the tree Sideroxylon grandiflorum (tambalacoque) both of which were entirely confined to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It should be noted that seeds of Dracaena at El Zumacal in La Palma germinate successfully without the aid of any extinct birds.

Occasional dragon trees never flower, and therefore never branch, producing rather bizarre 'skyrocket' forms - see the Gibraltar Natural History Society's picture of the two types in the Garrison Library Gardens. The oldest dragon tree in Gibraltar's Alameda Botanical Gardens is believed to be around 300 years old.

red resin, El ZumacalHistorically, the red resin from the plant was known as dragon's blood and used in magic and medicine as well as a violin varnish and in embalming. 7,4-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavylium (dracoflavylium) has been identified as the major red colorant in samples of the resin. Another source of dragon's blood was the closely related Dracaena cinnabari from Soqotra island in the Arabian channel.


Dragon trees on La Palma

 The older dragon trees on La Palma have a more upright, multiple-branched form than do those on Tenerife. This is said to be because La Palman farmers pruned the branches in order to feed their livestock - however the species is surrounded by so much mythology it is hard to judge the reliability of this suggestion.

There are a number of small colonies on the northwest, northeast and east of the island. In the listings below, I have not included very small, young or single-crowned specimens, or medium-sized ones that are very obviously in gardens.

north
west		 El Roque, Barranco de Garome
825m asl		 A spectacular large, old, leaning tree, near the main LP-1 road, on the northern Puntagorda side of the barranco. The "Drago el Roque". Some younger trees nearby. 28°45'24.74"N
17°58'29.59"W
north
west		 Puntagorda There are several large trees west of (below) Puntagorda, near the old San Mauro church 28°46'15"N
17°59'05"W
north
west		 Puntagorda-Fagundo
625m asl		 An isolated younger tree, near El Jocamar 28°45'36.44"N
17°52'20.66"W
north
west		 Puntagorda, Mirador de Matos
450m asl		 On the northwest corner of Puntagorda municipio, near the Barranco de Izcaguan. A nice colony of 6 trees, one of the few groups that is not beside houses. 28°47'06.75"N
17°59'16.19"W
north
west		 Las Tricias to Buracas Probably the island's
largest colonies		 28°47'21.12"N
17°58'28.51"W
north
west		 Barranco de Briestas
c.400m asl		 There are at least two medium-sized trees
on the southern rim of the gorge		 28°48'17.72"N
17°58'01.72"W
north
west		 Cueva de Agua
c.375m asl		 A single tree near the junction of the
Cueva de Agua road with the LP-114		 28°48'59.02"N
17°57'25.60"W
north
west		 Santo Domingo, Barranco de la Luz
c. 300-360m asl		 There are at least five trees on the
southern rim of, or in, the Barranco de la Luz
immediately north of town, plus two more just north of the northern rim		 28°49'52.31"N
17°56'36.29"W
north
west		 Santo Domingo
425m asl		 One large tree in the rural
eastern suburbs of Santo Domingo		 28°49'40.08"N
17°56'33.06"W
north
west		 Salvatierra to Jaral
385-530m asl		 There are at least 24 medium to large trees in a small valley leading up from Salvatierra to Jaral. There are a further 3 in the next valley to the northeast, and at least three on the hillslope to the south. 28°49'55.33"N
17°56'5.01"W
north
west		 Salvatierra to El Palmar
c. 230m asl		 There are three trees in the valley to the south of the Barranco del Palmar, before the first houses of El Palmar. 28°49'55.33"N
17°56'5.01"W
north
west		 El Palmar
c. 235-260m asl		 There are several trees in the Barranco del Palmar, including some young ones. 28°49'55.33"N
17°56'5.01"W
north
west		 El Mudo
c. 220-345m asl		 There are three trees by houses on the northern rim of the barranco south of El Mudo, and one in the barranco bed 28°50'32.96"N
17°55'09.79"W
north
west		 Llano Negro
c. 800-850m asl		 A couple of trees near the LP-112 road,
to the west of Llano Negro		 28°48'N
17°55'W
north La Tablada
275-390m asl		 I've not seen these close to, but
there appear to be at least three large trees
around the village		 28°50'3.19"N
17°52'37.62"W
north
east		 Franceses, Los Machines
450-500m asl		 at least 15 trees
on the ridge above the village		 28°49'32.11"N
17°51'33.18"W
north
east		 La Palmita
405-460m asl		 at least 4 trees
around the small hamlet		 28°49'39.90"N
17°49'39.04"W
north
east		 Topaciegas
c. 475m		 at least 3 trees
around the small hamlet		 28°49'N
17°49'W
north
east		 La Tosca
465-520m		 more than a dozen trees
around the small hamlet		 28°49'42.46"N
17°48'57.66"W
northeast Barranco de la Galga
115m asl		 a single hillside tree near the mouth of the barranco 28°46'40.21"N
17°45'26.40"W
northeast Puntallana
185m asl		 a single hillside tree below the Puntallana-Nogales road 28°44'58.18"N
17°44'15.53"W
east above the LP138 Santa Cruz-Airport road, between El Socorro and El Fuerte
65m asl		 a single tree 28°39'33.75"N
17°45'59.68"W
east Zumacal
125-135m asl		 a colony of 4 large trees,
plus several younger ones		 28°39'8.54"N
17°46'10.59"W
east Zumacal
150m		 two to the W 28°39'4.80"N
17°46'12.70"W,
east Zumacal
140m asl		 one tree to the S 28°39'2.27"N
17°46'10.21"W,
east Zumacal, on the road to Ermita de el Socorro
125m asl		 a large one to the NE, with a smaller one on the hillside behind 28°39'16.16"N
17°46'6.89"W.
east Camino del Barranco La Laja
220m asl 		single old tree in garden; younger tree on other (north) side of road 28°39'33.05"N
17°46'46.14"W
east Camino del Barranco La Laja
205m asl 		a large colony of young plants in barranco bed, possibly offspring of above; possible planted 28°39'31.63"N
17°46'44.54"W
east Gemelos (on the road to San Isidro) A pair of trees growing very close together, possibly the largest on the island - the combined canopy is approximately 15m across 28°38'53.85"N
17°47'15.06"W.		 the paired Gemelos dragons
east San Antonio A large single tree just SW of the San Antonio crossroads 28°38'42.68"N
17°46'4.44"W.
east San José six, isolated trees east of and downhill from San José on the old route down to San Antonio. The three higher altitude trees are in gardens, the larger lower three are in or by a banana plantation. 28°38'45.52"N
17°46'24.58"W
to
28°38'49.33"N
17°46'14.72"W
east San José one tree at the north end of town, among houses 28°38'47.85"N
17°46'34.38"W





Lance Chilton and Marengo 2010

Marengo, 17 Bernard Crescent, Hunstanton PE36 6ER, England