DRACAENA

genus of ornamental foliage plants in the family Agavaceae, consisting of about 50 to 80 species native primarily to the Old World tropics. Most species have short stalks and narrow, sword-shaped leaves, but some have taller stalks and resemble trees with crowns of leaves. The small flowers are red, yellow, or green. The berrylike fruit contains one to three seeds. Dracaena sanderiana, with white-edged leaves, and D. fragrans, with yellow leaf edges or white stripes, are commonly cultivated as houseplants. The dragon tree (D. draco) of the Canary Islands, an ornamental tree with orange fruit, can grow 18 m (60 feet) tall and 6 m wide. The trunk contains a red gum, called dragon's blood, that was formerly used in medicines.