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Madagascar Dragon Tree

Dracaena marginata

Status: Vulnerable. This tree grows in Madagascar and Mauritius, and changing weather patterns have altered rainfall in the region. Decrease in precipitation, combined with dangerous flash floods result in loss of topsoil but little absorption of moisture into the soil.

Ancient Greek mythology:

As the eleventh of his twelve labors, the great hero Heracles was sent by King Eurystheus to bring him the golden apples of the hesperides. These apples were found in the Garden of the Hesperides, and were given to Hera by Zeus as a wedding present. The Hesperides were nymph daughters of the titan Atlas, and they tended the garden. After finding out from Atlas the location of the garden, Heracles killed the dragon with a bow and arrows tipped with the poisonous blood of the Hydra (which Heracles had earlier killed in his second labor).

As the hero left with his golden prize, the blood flowed from the monster and seeped into the ground. Green tendrils began to spring from the earth, growing into dragon trees. As Ladon's blood spread and sank into the earth, the trees grew and stretched their tangled canopies to the sky.

When a dragon tree is cut, the sap weeps a sanguine red, and the resin was prized in the ancient world, for use as varnish, and for various traditional cures and medicines.

 

References:
Crane, Gregory R., "The Apples of the Hesperides". Perseus Digital Library, Classics Department, Tufts University. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/apples.html#:~:text=These%20apples%20were%20kept%20in,the%20earth%20upon%20his%20shoulders.

Anderson, T., Kalinoski, C., & Mertehikian, L. (2022). Dracaena draco: The Mystery of Dragon's Blood. Dumbarton Oaks.

Walker, C. (1999). A tale of dragons — the pachycaul species of Dracaena. British Cactus & Succulent Journal, 17(4), 171-177. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42793606