THE LILY FAMILY. 



161 



IV. Dragon-Tree Group. 



Simple or branclied palmids, or annual or perennial leaved 

 rhizocorms. Leaves sword-shaped, linear, or elliptical. Fruit 

 a berry. 



Dragon s Blood Tree {Draccena Draco). A remarkable tree, 

 native of the West Coast of Africa, Canaries, and adjacent 

 islands. Young plants of this have a similar appearance to 

 Yucca gloriosa, but it grows into a large tree ; after having 

 attained a certain height it produces branches. The famous 

 Dragon Tree of Orotava, in TenerifFe, believed to be the 

 oldest vegetable organism in the world, is stated to have 

 been 70 feet high, and 48 feet in circumference. Its stem 

 was hollow and had a staircase in it as high as the point 

 where its branches commenced. It was entirely destroyed 

 in 1(S67, having previously suffered much from storms. A 

 portion of one of its branches is preserved in the Kew 

 Museum. DraccEna Draco was introduced to the Eoyal Gar- 

 dens many years ago, and in 1861: one specimen had attained 

 the height of 30 feet, bearing a crown of sword-shaped leaves 

 on a cyhndrical stem 6 inches in diameter. The red gum 

 called Dragon's Blood is obtained from this plant, but only 

 in small quantities. It must not be confounded with the 

 Dragon's Blood of commerce, which is obtained from Ca- 

 lamus Draco^ a native of Java and Borneo. 



Draccena terminalis is common in the Sandwich Islands 

 and in the islands of the Pacific generally, and is known by 

 the name of Ti." It has thick fleshy roots which contain 

 large quantities of saccharine matter, from which the natives 

 extract sugar. They also bake and eat the roots, and a 

 spirituous liquor is obtained from them by distiUation. 



Of late years numerous ornamental species of Drac^na 

 have come into notice, some having beautifully variegated 

 foliage. They are favourite show plants, being frequently 

 seen at horticultural exhibitions. 



Bowstring Hemp {Sanseviera guineensis). A native of 

 tropical Africa, having long strap-shaped leaves 2 — 4 feet 



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