DRAGON'S BLOOD

red resin obtained from the fruit of several palms of the genus Daemonorops and used in colouring varnishes and lacquers. Once valued as a medicine in Europe because of its astringent properties, dragon's blood now is used as a varnish for violins and in photoengraving for preventing undercutting of the printing surface during etching. Daemonorops draco, a rattan palm native to Malaysia and Indonesia, produces much of the dragon's blood of commerce. Other sources are Dracaena cinnabari of the island of Socotra, east of Somalia; Dracaena draco of the Canary Islands; and Croton draco of Mexico, where it is used locally to heal wounds and as an astringent.