Dracaena fragrans

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Asparagaceae
Subfamilia: Nolinoideae
Tribus: Dracaeneae
Genus: Dracaena
Species: Dracaena fragrans
Name

Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl., Bot. Mag. 27: t. 1081. (1808)
Synonyms

Basionym
Aletris fragrans L., Sp. Pl. ed. 2: 456 (1762)
Homotypic
Aloe fragrantissima Jacq., Enum. Stirp. Vindob.: 309 (1762), nom. superfl.
Pleomele fragrans (L.) Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 245 (1796).
Sansevieria fragrans (L.) Jacq., Fragm. Bot.: 29 (1803).
Cordyline fragrans (L.) Planch., Fl. Serres Jard. Eur. 6: 111 (1850).
Draco fragrans (L.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 710 (1891).
Heterotypic
Dracaena ensifolia var. greigii Regel, Gartenflora 20: 139 (1871).
Dracaena smithii Baker ex Hook.f., Bot. Mag. 101: t. 6169 (1875).
Dracaena lindenii Linden ex André, Ill. Hort. 27: 85 (1880).
Dracaena fragrans var. massangeana (Rodigas) É.Morren, Belgique Hort. 31: 327 (1881).
Dracaena massangeana Rodigas, Rev. Hort. Belg. 7: 210 (1881).
Dracaena aureolus W.Bull ex Mast., Gard. Chron., n.s., 19: 404 (1883).
Dracaena fragrans f. wacheana Wacha ex Siebert, Vilm. Blumengärtn. ed. 3, 1: 1065 (1895).
Dracaena latifolia f. rothiana Siebert, Vilm. Blumengärtn. ed. 3, 1: 1064 (1895).
Dracaena steudneri var. kilimandscharica Engl., Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas, C: 143 (1895).
Dracaena broomfieldii Sander ex Mast., Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 20: 666 (1896).
Dracaena ugandensis Baker in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 445 (1898).
Dracaena victoria W.Bull, Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 24: 325 (1898).
Dracaena janssensii Mast., Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 25: 287 (1899).
Dracaena albanensis Sander ex Mast., Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 27: 206 (1900).
Dracaena deisteliana Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 32: 96 (1902).
Dracaena deremensis Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 32: 95 (1902).
Dracaena broomfieldii var. superba Sander ex Mast., Gard. Chron., ser. 3, 33: 245 (1903).
Dracaena butayei De Wild., Ann. Mus. Congo Belge, Bot., sér. 5, 1: 16 (1903).
Dracaena fragrans var. victoria (W.Bull) O.F.Cook, Garden (London, 1871-1927) 1903: 78 (1903).
Dracaena deremensis var. warneckei Engl., Gartenwelt 1907: 505 (1907).
Pleomele deremensis (Engl.) N.E.Br., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1914: 278 (1914).
Pleomele smithii (Baker ex Hook.f.) N.E.Br., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1914: 279 (1914).
Pleomele ugandensis (Baker) N.E.Br., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1914: 279 (1914).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Africa
Regional: West Tropical Africa
Benin; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Ivory Coast; Nigeria
Regional: West-Central Tropical Africa
Cameroon; Central African Republic; Equatorial Guinea; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Gulf of Guinea Is; Republic of the Congo; Rwanda
Regional: Northeast Tropical Africa
Ethiopia; South Sudan
Regional: East Tropical Africa
Kenya; Tanzania; Uganda
Regional: South Tropical Africa
Angola; Malawi; Mozambique; Zambia; Zimbabwe

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
Note:

Aloe fragrantissima Jacq. is a few months older than Aletris fragrans L. and has priority. However, the publication of Dracaena fragratissima in Gardens Chronicle might not be valid. A conservation of Aletris fragrans could be desirabe.
References

Ker Gawler, J.B., 1808. Bot. Mag. 27: t. 1081

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Dracaena fragrans in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jan. 26. Reference page.
Bos, J.J. 1984, Agric. Univ. Wageningen Pap. 84-1: 1-126.:[1]
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Dracaena fragrans. Published online. Accessed: Jan. 26 2019.
The Plant List 2013. Dracaena fragrans in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jan. 26.
Tropicos.org 2019. Dracaena fragrans. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2019 Jan. 26.

Vernacular names
English: Cornstalk dracaena
suomi: Tuoksutraakkipuu
svenska: Doftdracena
中文: 巴西木

Dracaena fragrans (cornstalk dracaena), is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at 600–2,250 m (1,970–7,380 ft) altitude.[1][2] It is also known as striped dracaena, compact dracaena, and corn plant.

Description
Foliage and flowers
Fruit

Dracaena fragrans is a slow growing shrub, usually multistemmed at the base, mature specimens reaching 15 m (49 ft) or more tall with a narrow crown of usually slender erect branches. Stems may reach up to 30 cm (12 in) diameter on old plants; in forest habitats they may become horizontal with erect side branches. Young plants have a single unbranched stem with a rosette of leaves until the growing tip flowers or is damaged, after which it branches, producing two or more new stems; thereafter, branching increases with subsequent flowering episodes.[1][3]

The leaves are glossy green, lanceolate, 20–150 cm (7.9–59.1 in) long and 2–12 cm (0.79–4.72 in) wide; small leaves are erect to spreading, and larger leaves usually drooping under their weight. The flowers are produced in panicles 15–160 cm (5.9–63.0 in) long, the individual flowers are 2.5 cm (0.98 in) diameter, with a six-lobed corolla, pink at first, opening white with a fine red or purple central line on each of the 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) lobes; they are highly fragrant, and popular with pollinating insects. The fruit is an orange-red berry 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) diameter, containing several seeds.[1][3]
Cultivation
Inflorescence of Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana'
Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana' in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

In Africa, D. fragrans is commonly grown as a hedge plant.[1] It is suited to frost-free climates and USDA Hardiness zones 10-11. Elsewhere, it is primarily popular as a houseplant and valued for its tolerance of a wide range of indoor conditions from full light to low light.[3] It is also very tolerant of neglect. The NASA Clean Air Study indicated that the plant aided removal of indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene.[4] The plant is known as "masale" to the Chagga people of Tanzania, who regard it as holy.[5]

In cultivation in the Neotropics, a few generalist hummingbird species like the sapphire-spangled emerald (Amazilia lactea) visit the flowers.[6]
Cultivars

Several cultivars have variegated foliage. 'Massangeana', also commonly denominated "Mass Cane", has a bright yellow central stripe on the foliage. 'Compacta' is more compact and suitable for indoor cultivation. Other popular cultivars include 'Janet Craig', 'Lemon Lime', and 'Warneckei' ('Warneckii'), which are often sold under the synonym D. deremensis.[3]

The cultivars 'Lemon Lime',[7] ‘Massangeana’,[8] and 'Warneckei'[9] bear the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[10]
Propagation

Dracaena fragrans is propagated by cutting segments of old stems 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long, drying them, and then inserting them into moist sand until they root. New growth, typically being two or three shoots, comes from old foliar scars at the top of the stem.
Etymology and synonymy

The species name refers to the fragrant flowers, while the English name derives from a perceived resemblance of the stem to a corn (Zea mays) stalk. Synonyms include Aletris fragrans L. (basionym), Cordyline fragrans (L.) Planch., Pleomele fragrans (L.) Salisb., Sansevieria fragrans (L.) Jacq., Dracaena deremensis Engl., Dracaena smithii Hook.f., and Dracaena ugandensis Baker.[1][2] Other English names include striped dracaena (for variegated cultivars), corn plant (for the cultivar 'Massangeana';[3]), Chinese money tree, and fortune plant.[11]

The plant is known as "බෝතල් ගස් - bothal gas" (meaning "bottle tree") in Sinhala, in Sri Lanka.
References

JSTOR Plant Science: Dracaena fragrans
"Dracaena fragrans". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 22 December 2017.
Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 2: 96. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
Wolverton, B. C. 1996. How to Grow Fresh Air. New York: Penguin Books.
Stahl, Kathleen Mary (1964). History of the Chagga people of Kilimanjaro. Mouton. p. 60. OCLC 1382652.
Baza Mendonça, Luciana & dos Anjos, Luiz. (2005). Beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae) e seus recursos florais em uma área urbana do Sul do Brasil [Hummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae) and their flowers in an urban area of southern Brazil]. [Portuguese with English abstract] Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 22 (1): 51–59. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752005000100007 PDF fulltext
"RHS Plant Selector - Dracaena fragrans (Deremensis Group) 'Lemon Lime'". Retrieved 1 June 2020.
"RHS Plantfinder - Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana'". Retrieved 12 February 2018.
"RHS Plant Selector - Dracaena fragrans (Deremensis Group) 'Warneckei'". Retrieved 1 June 2020.
"AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 33. Retrieved 6 February 2018.

MacDonald, Elvin "The World Book of House Plants" pp.238 Popular Books

External links
Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Dracaena fragrans". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.