AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



No. 2.] FEBRUARY, 1906. [Vol. v. 



EAST INDIAN DRAGON'S BLOOD. 



• By H. N. Ridley. 



Dragon's blood is a red resin obtained from the shells of the 

 fruit of certain rattans belonging to the genus Daemonorops, 

 natives of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. The genus 

 contains about 80 species, but only a few belonging to one 

 section, Pipto-spathce, produce this resin. 



The resiniferous species are : — 



D. didymophyllus Becc. Malay Peninsula. 



D. micracanthus Becc „ 



D. propinquus Becc'. „ 



D. Draco Bl. {D. ruber Mart). Sumatra. 



D. Draconcellus Becc. Borneo. 



D. mattaniensis Becc. ,, 



D. motlcyi Becc. „ 



D. spavsiflovus Becc. ,, 



D. ruber Bl. Java 



Of these D. micracanthus, D. propinquus, D. Draco and D. 

 Draconcellus, are all known to the Malays as Rotan Jerenang, and 

 are the source of the greater part at least of the Dragon's blood 

 of commerce. The remainder are probably also used, but we 

 have no facts at present to go on to settle this point. 



D. didymophyllus Becc. 



Stem about 12 feet long, an inch thick, green covered with 

 green or olive, large and small flat dagger-shaped spines, leaves 

 9 feet long, petile 8 inches long, flattened around with 

 long needle-shaped spines, brown with yellow bases, leaflets 

 about 20 in alternate pairs, oblong linear acuminate glabrous 

 6-12 inches long, one inch wide, spathes about 6, the lowest 7 

 inches long, with short flat irregular processes in lines, the 



