Dragon blood tree (Dracaena draco) | seedling

• Latin name: Dracaena draco
• Danish names: Dragetræ, drageblodstræ, drageblodtræ
  
• English names: Drago, Canary Islands dragon tree
  

The Canary Islands dragon tree is a tropical and slow-growing tree native to the Canary Islands, Madeira, and Morocco. It has, however, been introduced around the world as an ornamental tree. The tree can become incredibly old, and some records mention a tree of around 6,000 years on Tenerife.

Its appearance is rugged and may resemble an agave. It is evergreen, with long lanceolate green leaves and a grayish trunk. The tree can grow up to 15 meters tall and take on an almost umbrella-like shape. Reportedly, the single trunk grows for 10–15 years before it begins to branch out. In this way, one can almost calculate the age of a tree. When the plant becomes sufficiently old, a flower stalk is formed with white flowers, which later develop into small orange berries.

The name, dragon tree, is due to the bark secreting a red resin (dragon's blood), which was previously used as a pigment in traditional paints.

There are several subspecies of the dragon tree:

• Dracaena draco draco: Endemic to Madeira and the Canary Islands.
• Dracaena draco ajgal: Endemic to Morocco.
• Dracaena draco caboverdeana: Endemic to the Cape Verde Islands.

It was previously believed that a species on Gran Canaria was also a subspecies. But it has now turned out to be a new species, Dracaena tamaranae, which, with very few individuals in the wild, is one of Europe's rarest plants.