



^i:;^w^ 



DRACAENAS AND 



THEIR DIFFERENCES 



Dracanas arc not only heautiful, hut exceedingly varied arid adaptable; 

 there are many sorts for many situations, indoors and outdoors. Some are 

 demurely graceful; others are brilliant in hue and are especially suitable 

 for such festive occasions as Christmas, when bright colors are in vogue. 



KKllAJ'S it may l)e woU to 

 state at the start, just to 

 avoid beiiifr aeeused of in- 

 accurac'v, that many of 

 tlic i>lants known in the 

 trade as dracaenas are not 

 draca'nas at all, but are 

 cordylines. Kven the two 

 widely grown favorites 

 whicli florists call Dra- 

 caena indivisa and I), terminalis, with 

 the numerous i)opular varieties of these 

 two species — all of these are correctly 

 labeled as cordylines, not dracsenas. 

 But the two genera, draeaena and cordy- 

 line, are so closely allied that the bo- 

 tanical distinctions between them — 

 <-hiefly with reference to the seed cells — 

 are of little consequence to florists. 

 Therefore, with apologies to the bo- 

 tanists, tliis article will henceforward 

 shun the name cordyline and use the 

 word dracffina in its trade sense, as 

 comprising both genera. 



Native Home and Natural Habit. 



The tendency of many dracaenas in 

 their native tropical or subtropical en- 

 vironment, especially as they advance 

 in age, is to assume the form of a tall, 

 bare stem, ten to thirty feet or more 

 in height and crowned with 

 n palm-like tuft of leaves. 

 But good greenhouse cul- 

 ture produces compact 

 specimens, with foliage 

 down to the base of the 

 stem. It is for their fo- 

 liage, of course, that dra- 

 caenas are grown, not for 

 their flowers. The flowers 

 are inconspicuous, at best, 

 and usually do not appear 

 at all until the plants have 

 attained a good size. But 

 the leaves are so beautiful 

 that there is no need of 

 apology for the deficiency 

 in flowers. 



Dracaena Draco, the drag- 

 on tree of the Canary is- 

 lands, is the giant of the 

 gei|us. It yields a resin 

 called dragon's blood; 

 somebody seems to have 

 known just what dragon's 

 blood looks like. Hence the 

 specific name, Draco, which 

 is Latin for "dragon." 

 Hence, also, the generic 

 name, tlracapna, which is de- 

 rived from a Cireek word 

 meaning 

 There i 



then, for the existence of the 

 common name, dragon tree. 



With reference to the two groups of 

 draca'nas mentioned in the first para- 

 graph of this article — Dracaena indivisa 

 .•md D. terminalis, with all the deriva- 

 tives from these two extensively culti- 

 vated species — a fact of real importance 

 is that they do not reijuire so high a 

 temperature as do some of the other 

 dracaenas, especially those of tlie fra- 

 grans type. 



Preferences in Temperature. 



The foregoing statement does not 

 mean that indivisa and terminalis. could 

 be grown successfully in the same tem- 

 perature; not by any means. Indivisa, 

 from New Zealand, is a cool-house sui)- 

 ject. Terminalis, from the East Indies, 

 requires a warm house, but not (juite the 

 warmest house in the draca-na section. 

 The numerous varieties in the termi- 

 nalis group thrive in a minimum winter 

 temperature of 55 to 60 degrees, while 

 (ioldieana and the fragrans group, from 

 tropical Africa, enjoy 10 degrees more 

 heat. It is well to note in this connec- 

 tion that D. fragrans also needs shade 

 throughout the summer, while termi- 

 nalis and its derivatives require ])rotec- 

 tion from only the brightest sunshine. 



There is no wonder, then, that D. 



"she - dragon." 

 double reason, 



Dracaena Massangeana, a Variegated Form of D. Fragrans 



terminalis is among the most popular 

 species, since it is comfjaratively mod- 

 erate in its requirements and comprises 

 so many exquisitely handsome varieties. 

 Terminalis itself, when young, is green 

 or occasionally bronze, but it assumes 

 rich shades of crimson or scarlet as it 

 a])proaches maturity. The following- 

 half-dozen kinds, though often regarded 

 as distinct species, are really varieties 

 of terminalis: Amabilis, one of the 

 hardiest of the six, is broad-leaved and 

 glossy green, later becoming spotted 

 and suffused with j)ink and wliite; Bap- 

 tistii has broad leaves, deej) green, 

 striped with pink and yellow; Glad- 

 stonei's leaves are broad and of a bril- 

 liant crimson hue; Lord Wolseley is 

 i)right red; metallica is dark purplish 

 bronze; Yaungii is broad-leaved and 

 bright green, streaked with deep red. 

 These are just samples; there are many 

 other excellent varieties, including some 

 recently introduced ones which have 

 not yet been fully tested. 



Peculiarities of D. Indivisa. 



But, as Jilready intimated, it is D. 

 indivisa, with its varieties, that is the 

 real lover of a cool atmosphere. This 

 species will grow satisfactorily in win- 

 ter in a night temperature 

 of no degrees and will even 

 tolerate a night tempera- 

 ture of 40 to 4.J degrees, 

 liesides being thus easily 

 satisfied while under the 

 grower's care, it is pecu- 

 liarly tolerant of neglect 

 and abuse as a finished 

 ]ilaiit. Owing to its ability 

 to endure sunshine and 

 <lrought, it is much used as 

 an outdoor decorative plant, 

 in cemetery vases, in win- 

 dow l)oxes, on terraces and 

 in other trying situations, 

 where it not only lives, but 

 even flourislies. D. indivisa 

 is dark green. Among its 

 varieties, atropurpurea has 

 deep reddish brown fo- 

 liage; aureo-striata is va- 

 riegated with longitudinal 

 yellow strijies; lineata has 

 much broader leaves than 

 those of the type and is 

 stained with reddish pink; 

 Veitchii is similar to the 

 type, but is suffused with 

 bright crimson at the base 

 of the le;if. 



Besides its enjoyment of 

 a cool atmosphere, D. indi- 

 visa has another outstand- 

 ing jH'culiarity. T^nlike most 



