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dracaena cinnabari medicinal uses

dracaena cinnabari medicinal uses Dragon's Blood Tree (Canary Islands) – Experimental Farm Network Seed Store

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Description

dracaena cinnabari medicinal uses Dragon's Blood Tree (Canary Islands) – Experimental Farm Network Seed StoreDracaena draco Origin: Canary Islands via California Improvement status: Unknown Seeds per packet: 10 BOTANICAL SAMPLE NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial Along with its cousin, the Socotra Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari), from an island on the other side of Africa, the Canary Islands Dragon's Blood Tree is one of the major sources of the historically important red colored resin known as "dragon's blood." Long used as a dye, painting

Dracaena draco

Origin: Canary Islands via California

Improvement status: Unknown

Seeds per packet: 10

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

Along with its cousin, the Socotra Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari), from an island on the other side of Africa, the Canary Islands Dragon's Blood Tree is one of the major sources of the historically important red-colored resin known as "dragon's blood." Long used as a dye, painting pigment, varnish, incense, toothpaste, and ingredient in compounds both medicinal and magical, the garnet-red sap — which drips like slow-moving blood from any wounds to the plant's bark — has captured imaginations for thousands of years. Since the major sources of the resin were largely found on isolated islands, it was apparently easy for its marketers to pass it off as genuine dragon's blood — for few had firsthand evidence to dispute such tales. It is first mentioned (with the now-anonymous author acknowledging it comes from a plant) as a product of Socotra in a 1st century Greco-Roman periplus, a sort of first-hand travel and trading guidebook, called Periplus Maris Erythraeixi, which detailed economic opportunities for travelers and traders from the Red Sea across the Arabian Sea to modern-day India, almost all the way to Bangladesh (and including an overland route to China as well).

This species, Dracaena draco,  which not only is native to the Canary Islands, but also Cape Verde (Cabo Verde), Madeira, and a few places in western Morocco, is usually called the Canary Islands dragon tree or dragon's blood tree, or just drago. Early Portuguese introductions from Cabo Verde are believed to have given rise to the small population that still exists in the Azores as well. When the Swedish father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, described the tree in 1762, he called it Asparagus draco — and indeed it is still placed in the Asparagaceae family. But this tree is no simple asparagus. It has a very distinctive growth form: young trees grow upward as a single stem topped by a dense crown of long, yucca-like leaves; then after ten years or so, the first pretty white flowers form (looking somewhat like lilies), followed by orange-red fruits; then a crown of buds forms and the plant begins to branch; each branch grows for another decade or so, then also flowers and branches again, in a process repeated over hundreds or thousands of years until the tree has a large, strong, woody trunk, topped with a maze-like crown of interlocking branches topped with a hemispherical crown of green leaves, flowers, and fruit. The oldest, largest individuals are stunning to see.

When the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt visited the Canary Islands in 1799 he was shown a massive drago specimen in Tenerife that had been hollowed out by the indigenous Guanche people and used as a sanctuary long before the arrival of Spanish imperialist colonizers. The tree was 70 feet tall (21 meters) and 45 feet in circumference (14 meters) — and estimated to be 6,000 years old. Sadly, it was felled in a storm in 1868.

The resin from this species differs slightly from the resin of the Socotra dragon tree (which was known to Europeans for a millenium and a half longer), but upon its "discovery" in the 1400s, it began being used as a slightly more accessible substitute. It became particularly important as a varnish for the beautiful violins produced in Italy during the time of Stradivarius and his successors. There is little record of how the indigenous Guanche people (related to mainland Northern African Berber peoples), who arrived in the islands by the 6th century BCE, utilized the plant — because most of them were killed or died of exposure to novel diseases in the decades after Spanish conquest began (the language went extinct sometime in the 1600s) — but its likely they found many uses for it as well, as the local inhabitants of Socotra use theirs.

Today, dragon's blood is still used medicinally — primarily for wound healing, digestive issues, and pain relief — with scientists continually probing it for more uses. Modern research has found potent antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties, validating its traditional uses, and studies note few negative side effects. Bioactive compounds in the plant show promise in the treatment of diabetic wounds, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.

In most of the US, the tree can only be grown as a houseplant (and many people have very long-lived dragon's blood trees growing in pots, rarely growing taller than 4 or 5 feet over 50 years), but it can tolerate life outdoors in much of USDA Zones 9 to 12. It can tolerate brief dips below freezing, but prefers temperatures to stay above 50°F.

This California-grown seed comes to us from the good folks at Sheffield's Seed in Locke, New York.

GROWING TIPS: To germinate, soak seeds in hot tap water and let sit for 24-48 hours. Sow 1/4 inch deep, keeping soil warm (above 75°F) and moist, but not over-saturated. Seeds should sprout within 4-6 weeks. For potted plants, use regular potting soil in inividual pots. Put them in bright, indirect light. Do not leave roots wet. Trees grow in places that often see very little rain, so using a humidifier to keep your air more humid is sometimes best. You could also use the ice-cube method, placing a few ice cubes on top of the soil (away from the base of the plant) every week or two, to make sure you don't over-water them.

NOTE: The image of the old tree with the door in its trunk, comes from the Wellcome Collection, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom. It is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The image of dragon's blood resin may or may not come from this species, but all of the resins look similar (it may be Dracaena cinnabari, as the author believed, or Calamus draco, an unrelated species which produces a similar-looking resin, or Dracaena draco). It is from author Maša Sinreih in Valentina Vivod and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. All others are public domain images of Dracaena draco.

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4.8 ★★★★★
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patricia nerdington III
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
Makes fantastic, not bitter, non-acidic coffee
This little carafe makes really great coffee for someone who likes a mild tasting non-bitter, non-acidic taste. This little carafe is well designed and easy to use. Filter is easy to clean once I realized that the bottom screws off for easy cleaning😉. I usually fill the filter with 4 tbs of ground coffee then attach to the carafe and fill with water. The carafe brews sitting out on the counter or in the fridge. I keep the cold brewed coffee in another jar in the refrigerator so the carafe is free to brew more insuring that I never run out of delicious coffee for my daily homemade iced coffee. I never buy expensive coffees out anymore. I don't even feel tempted to buy one out because the coffee I make at home now is far better than anything my local cafe's offer. Now I laugh at all the chumps in line at Starbucks waiting to pay $7 for overly strong, bitter coffee. Not today, Satan!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2023
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Sweetsmiley00
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Awesome for Cold Brew Coffee and Tea!
I love this pitcher! I make Cold Brew Coffee to have Ice Coffee in the mornings. I just used it this last weekend to make Cold Brew Iced Tea.Both taste great!! It is a glass pitcher with a non-slip bottom. It came very well packaged, in a plastic bag that was wrapped in foam all the way around, and put into a cardboard box. The filter seems very good quality. I put the grounds in it and the add water to the pitcher. I stir once in the middle of brewing in the fridge (recommended in the instructions). When it's done, I keep the lid on and just twist to turn it just off to the side of the spout, and it pours out just fine. (Doing it this way is also stated in the instructions. Doing it this way will definitely keep grounds out of your drink with NO problem! ) I really like this pitcher. It is super easy to clean. And I Brew it starting late morning/ afternoon, letting it sit over night, so it's ready in the morning. I expect it to last years, given the quality! But if my kids or husband ever broke it (since it is glass), I wouldn't hesitate to buy another!! It is definitely a GREAT buy for the money!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024
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A.K.
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 4
Easy to use and clean, good quality, but..
I've used this a few times to make cold brew coffee at home and it works for that purpose. However I have found some downsides to doing it this way which I will discuss below. I like the base on this because it keeps the pitcher from sliding and protects the glass as well. The lid fits nicely and keeps the pitcher sealed. The mesh filter has worked so far for the course grinds required for cold brew and is very easy to empty and clean, especially with the removable bottom cap. However, going by the ratio as instructed by this product of grinds to water (and all that it can fit in the filter), it doesn't make a concentrate but an already diluted, ready to drink cold brew. Due to this, I'd prefer to have a larger capacity brewer so that my batch could last longer (as a concentrate would). You can still add some cream or ice or water if you'd like, but it isn't making a concentrate as if you were using a 1:4 or 1:6 ratio. However its slim design does make it convenient if you don't have much space to keep it in the fridge for as long as you'd like to be using it. The downside I've found to making cold brew this way aside from the size to make the amount I'd prefer at a time for concentrate is.. There is not an easy, convenient way to squeeze the rest of your cold brew out of the grinds that have soaked it up. I use a tea towel or cheese cloth to squeeze it out after dumping them from the filter, but it is a bit messy and time consuming and I feel I still don't get it all. For this reason I would prefer doing cold brew with a French press.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2023
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OneBeautyOneTruth
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
STELLAR Customer Service!
I only used mine about 10 times, and then the top somehow got stuck. I'm not that strong, so I don't know how it happened. Now I can't get it off and it renders it useless. There are no instructions that say whether it tightens to the right or left, so I don't know which way to direct my efforts. It seems to just get tighter no matter the direction I work it. UPDATE: The company immediately replied and offered to send me a new one, even though I bought it 2 years ago. This is excellent customer service! This brewer really makes life easier. Just don't screw the lid on too tight. It makes great cold brew, ready in the fridge when you want it. It cleans up so easily too!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2025
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Verified Purchase
f.b.
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
love this!
So far I’m loving this cold brew kit in most every way. That said, I want to get the bad out of the way first: Even with careful attention to stirring the grounds my mesh filler was damaged within the first few brews. It’s just honestly disappointing because I love this kit to the fullest in every other way. It fits perfectly in my refrigerator door. The bumper at the bottom ring gives me peace of mind for protecting against the occasional bump. The filter, even with its weaknesses is well thought out. My brew is about how I like it after ~24+ hours of steeping. It has a convenient removable cap on the bottom to help remove used coffee grounds (your compost or worm bin will thank you!!!) The handle is comfortable and very convenient. I love the lid. It fits very very nice and snug and the design is very well thought out. Being able to pour my coffee without performing a juggling act is a relief. A simple turn of the lid and, “voila!” As a whole this cold brew maker is very attractive to use and store. It’s a mostly premium look and experience at what seems to be a competitive price at the time of my purchase. I will try to source glue to repair my filter and if that fails then look into a replacement from the company. EDIT: I was confident the company would reach out to me to make things right with an offer to replace my filter with their updated model. Have not heard back as of yet. Would certainly change my review back to 5* if they made this right. A product should not fail so soon - especially with the special care & attention I’d given it. EDIT2: Amanda and Justin were very quick to replace my filter once I found their email and messaged them my order number and explained my situation. 5 star product 5 star customer service.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2020

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