Dragon's blood is a bright red resin which is obtained from different species of a number of distinct plant genera: Calamus spp. (previously Daemonorops) also including Calamus rotang , Croton , Dracaena and Pterocarpus . The red resin has been in continuous use since ancient times as varnish, medicine, incense, pigment, and dye.
A great degree of confusion existed for the ancients in regard to the source and identity of dragon's blood. Some medieval encyclopedias claimed its source as the literal blood of elephants and dragons who had perished in mortal combat. [1] [2] The resin of Dracaena species, "true" dragon's blood, and the very poisonous mineral cinnabar (mercury sulfide) [3] were often confused by the ancient Romans. In ancient China, little or no distinction was made among the types of dragon's blood from the different species. Both Dracaena and Calamus resins are still often marketed today as dragon's blood, with little or no distinction being made between the plant sources; however, the resin obtained from Calamus has become the most commonly sold type in modern times, often in the form of large balls of resin. Resins that come from different species and different continents have been given the name “dragon's blood,” but their purity, appearance, and chemical properties are highly varied. [4]
Voyagers to the Canary Islands in the 15th century obtained dragon's blood as dried garnet-red drops from Dracaena draco , a tree native to the Canary Islands and Morocco. The resin is exuded from its wounded trunk or branches. Dragon's blood is also obtained by the same method from the closely related Dracaena cinnabari , which is endemic to the island of Socotra. This resin was traded to ancient Europe via the Incense Road.
Dragon's blood resin is also produced from the rattan palms of the genus Calamus of the Indonesian islands and known there as jernang or djernang. It is gathered by breaking off the layer of red resin encasing the unripe fruit of the rattan. The collected resin is then rolled into solid balls before being sold.
The red latex of the Sangre de Drago (called Sangre de Grado in Peru), from any of seven species of Croton native to Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil, has purported wound-healing and antioxidant properties, and has been used for centuries by native people. The species are: [5]
In his study of artists' pigments, the chemist George Field described dragon's blood as “a warm semi-transparent, rather dull, red colour, which is deepened by impure air, and darkened by light.” [6]
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The dragon's blood known to the ancient Romans was mostly collected from D. cinnabari, and is mentioned in the 1st century Periplus Maris Erythraei (xxx.10.17) as one of the products of Socotra. Socotra had been an important trading centre since at least the time of the Ptolemies. Dragon's blood was used as a dye, painting pigment, and medicine (respiratory and gastrointestinal problems) in the Mediterranean basin, and was held by early Greeks, Romans, and Arabs to have medicinal properties. Dioscorides and other early Greek writers described its medicinal uses. [7]
A notable occurrence of dragon's blood red in art is in Giotto's Pentecost. In this painting, it is believed that the pigment used in the orange-red flames over the Apostles' heads is dragon's blood. [8]
Locals on Socotra island use the Dracaena resin as a sort of cure-all,[ citation needed ] using it for such things as general wound healing, a coagulant (though this is ill-advised with commercial products, as the Calamus species acts as an anti-coagulant [9] and it is usually unknown what species the dragon's blood came from), curing diarrhea, lowering fevers, dysentery diseases, taken internally for ulcers in the mouth, throat, intestines and stomach, as well as an antiviral for respiratory viruses, stomach viruses and for skin disorders such as eczema. It was also used in medieval ritual magic and alchemy.
Dragon's blood of both Dracaena draco (commonly referred to as the Draconis Palm) and Dracaena cinnabari were used as a source of varnish for 18th century Italian violinmakers. There was also an 18th-century recipe for toothpaste that contained dragon's blood.
Dragon's blood from both Calamus were used for ceremonies in India. Sometimes Dracaena resin, but more often Calamus resin, was used in China as red varnish for wooden furniture. It was also used to colour the surface of writing paper for banners and posters, used especially for weddings and for Chinese New Year.
Dragon's blood incense is also occasionally sold as "red rock opium" to unsuspecting would-be drug buyers. It actually contains no opiates, and has only slight psychoactive effects, if any at all. [10]
Thaspine from the Dragon's Blood of the species Croton lechleri has possible use as a cancer drug. [11]
Today, dragon's blood from a South American plant can be bought in health food stores. [12]
According to Pliny the Elder, dragon's blood was used by artists in antiquity. Painters continued to use it in the creation of flesh tones during the 17th century. By the 19th century, publications on artists' materials indicate that it was most useful as a varnish, not as pigment for painting. In 1835, George Field stated that dragon's blood is “unsatisfactory for painting.” However, the pigment was used to prepare the color known as "Chinese orange." [13]
Today, dragon's blood has a variety of uses. Outside of it being a pigment in paintings and colors, it is still used as a varnish for violins, in photoengraving, as a medicine, as an incense resin, and as a body oil.[ citation needed ] The occurrence of bitter taste masking compounds in dragon's blood from Daemonorops draco indicates the relevance of the species for use in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. [14]
A study on oral toxicity of the DC resin methanol extract taken from the perennial tree Dracaena cinnabari was performed on female Sprague Dawley rats in February 2018. Acute and sub-acute oral toxicity tests found that the extract could be tolerated up to 2,000 mg/kg body weight. [15]
A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, and predominantly terpenes. Well known resins include amber, hashish, frankincense, myrrh and the animal-derived resin, shellac. Resins are commonly used in varnishes, adhesives, food additives, incenses and perfumes.
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of Southeast Asia, though they can also be found in other parts of tropical Asia and Africa. Most rattan palms are ecologically considered lianas due to their climbing habits, unlike other palm species. A few species also have tree-like or shrub-like habits.
Haemodracon is a small genus of rare geckos from Socotra archipelago.
Dracaena is a genus of about 200 species of trees and succulent shrubs. The formerly accepted genera Pleomele and Sansevieria are now included in Dracaena. In the APG IV classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. It has also formerly been separated into the family Dracaenaceae or kept in the Agavaceae.
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.
Croton is an extensive plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. The generic name comes from the Greek κρότος, which means "tick" and refers to the shape of the seeds of certain species.
Daemonorops was a genus of rattan palms in the family Arecaceae. Its species are now included within the genus Calamus. Species now placed in Daemonorops are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate individuals. They are found primarily in the tropics and subtropics of southeastern Asia with a few species extending into southern China and the Himalayas.
The Socotra starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to Socotra island, which is off the southeast coast of Yemen.
The Socotra Island xeric shrublands is a terrestrial ecoregion that covers the large island of Socotra and several smaller islands that constitute the Socotra Archipelago. The archipelago is in the western Indian Ocean, east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. Politically the archipelago is part of Yemen, and lies south of the Yemeni mainland.
Calamus rotang, also known as common rattan, is a plant species native to India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (Burma). It is one of the scandent (climbing) rattan palms used to make Malacca cane furniture, baskets, walking-sticks, umbrellas, tables and general wickerwork, and is found in Southwest Asia. The basal section of the plant grows vertically for 10 metres or so, after which the slender, tough stem of a few centimetres in diameter, grows horizontally for 200 metres or more. It is extremely flexible and uniform in thickness, and frequently has sheaths and petioles armed with backward-facing spines which enable it to scramble over other plants. It has pinnate, alternate leaves, 60–80 cm long, armed with two rows of spines on the upper face.
Dracaena cinnabari, the Socotra dragon tree or dragon blood tree, is a dragon tree native to the Socotra archipelago, part of Yemen, located in the Arabian Sea. It is named after the blood-like color of the red sap that the trees produce. It is considered the national tree of Yemen.
Croton lechleri is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to northwestern South America. It is commonly known as sangre de grado, sangre de drago or sangre de grada. They refer to this tree's thick red latex.
Dragon's blood is a bright red resin obtained from a number of distinct plants.
Crofelemer is an antidiarrheal indicated for the symptomatic relief of non-infectious diarrhea in adult patients with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy. Other possible uses include diarrhea in children, acute infectious diarrhea, and diarrhea in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. It is a purified oligomeric proanthocyanidin from "dragon's blood", the sap of the South American tree Croton lechleri.
The Socotra Archipelago, officially the Socotra Archipelago Governorate, abbreviated to Socotra Governorate, is one of the governorates of Yemen. It includes a number of islands in the Indian Ocean south of mainland Yemen, the largest of which is Socotra.
Dragon's blood tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
The Dragos Gemelos are two entwined Dracaena draco trees in Breña Alta, La Palma, Canary Islands. They are said to represent twin brothers who both fell in love with the same woman, and fought to the death, with the woman planting the twin trees to remember them.
Calamus draco is an Asian species of rattan plant in the family Arecaceae; its native range is from peninsular Thailand to western Malesia. It is a source of the red resin known as dragon's blood, which is a pigment with medicinal uses. The compound 4'-demethyl-3,9-dihydroeucomine (DMDHE), derived from the resin of Daemonorops draco, the homotypic synonym for Calamus draco, is a natural bitter-masking substance. This compound, which masks the bitter taste, suggests the importance for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries to improve the taste and acceptability of foods and medicines.
The Diksam Plateau or Dixam Plateau is a limestone plateau in Socotra, Yemen. The Firmihin forest, located east of the Dirhur canyon within the plateau, has the highest concentration of Dragon's Blood Trees on the entire island.