Dracaena draco

Dracaena draco
The ancient specimen El Drago Milenario at Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Dracaena
Species:
D. draco
Binomial name
Dracaena draco
(L.) L.
Synonyms
  • Palma draco (L.) Mill.
  • Asparagus draco L.
  • Dracaena resinifera Salisb.
  • Draco arbor Garsault
  • Draco draco (L.) Linding.
  • Draco dragonalis Crantz
  • Drakaina draco (L.) Raf.
  • Stoerkia draco (L.) Crantz
  • Yucca draco (L.) Carrière

Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropical tree in the genus Dracaena, native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and possibly introduced into the Azores.

It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1762 as Asparagus draco. In 1767 he assigned it to the new genus, Dracaena.

A related tree of similar appearance, the Socotra dragon tree Dracaena cinnabari, grows on the island of Socotra, Yemen, more than 7000 km from the Canary Islands.