El Drago Milenario

Last updated
El Drago Milenario
At Icod de los Vinos 2022 004.jpg
El Drago seen from the public viewing area
Location map Spain Tenerife.png
Red pog.svg
El Drago Milenario
Species Canary Islands dragon tree ( Dracaena draco )
Coordinates 28°22′00″N16°43′20″W / 28.3666°N 16.72222°W / 28.3666; -16.72222
Height 21 m (69 ft)
Girth 20 m (66 ft)

El Drago, also known as Drago Milenario and Drago de Icod de los Vinos, is the oldest and largest living specimen of Dracaena draco , or dragon tree, in Parque del Drago, Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife, Spain. It is said to be a thousand years old, although the age is disputed. It is one of the symbols of Tenerife, and was declared a national monument in 1917.

Contents

Description

It is the largest and oldest living specimen of Dracaena draco (common name dragon tree). [1] It is in Parque del Drago, Icod de los Vinos in Tenerife. [2] It is around 20–21 metres (66–69 ft) tall, [1] with a circumference around 20 metres (66 ft). It has over 300 main branches. The trunk contains a 6-metre-high (20 ft) cavity accessible by a door, with a fan installed to provide ventilation. [2] It is estimated to weigh around 140 tonnes (150 short tons). [3] When it flowered in 1995, it had around 1,800 flowering branches, with its weight increasing by 3.5 tonnes (3.9 short tons) during the fruiting season. [4]

It is one of the symbols of Tenerife. It was depicted on the 1,000  peseta note. It is part of the coat of arms for the Icod de los Vinos municipality and appears in local legends. [2] While the Parque del Drago which contains the tree charges for entry, it is visible for free from the nearby town square. [3]

History

Billet 1000 Pesetas Recto Galdos Billet 1000 Pesetas Recto Galdos.jpg
Billet 1000 Pesetas Recto Galdos

The specimen's age is disputed. It is thought to be around 800–1,000 years old. [2] Alexander von Humboldt estimated a similar tree on the island (that fell in a storm in 1867) to be several thousand years old, and a 1907 estimate by professors and students of the Polytechnic School of Zurich put it at 2,500 years old, [5] but an upper limit of 350 years was placed on it in 1975 by Mägdefrau, [6] while other studies suggest that it is around 1,000 years old. [5]

It was declared a national monument in 1917. [2] In the 1930s, part of the base was closed with stones and cement. In 1985 it was studied by arboriculturist Kenneth Alien, who reopened the entrance and installed a large fan inside the trunk cavity to aid air circulation and prevent fungal growth. In 1993 the road that passed within a few metres of the tree was rerouted. [4] Since 2002 it has been considered for submission to UNESCO as a World Heritage Site candidate. [2] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenerife</span> Largest and most populous of Spains Canary Islands

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 42.9% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of 2,034.38 square kilometres (785.48 sq mi) and a population of 948,815 inhabitants as of January 2023, it is also the most populous island of Spain and of Macaronesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icod de los Vinos</span> Municipality in Canary Islands, Spain

Icod de los Vinos is a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (Spain), located in the northwestern part of the island. Inhabitants of Icod are known in Spanish as "icodenses".

<i>Fitzroya</i> Species of plant

Fitzroya is a monotypic genus in the cypress family. The single living species, Fitzroya cupressoides, is a tall, long-lived conifer native to the Andes mountains and coastal regions of southern Chile, and only to the Argentine Andes, where it is an important member of the Valdivian temperate forests. Common names include alerce, lahuén, and Patagonian cypress. The genus was named in honour of Robert FitzRoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teide</span> Volcano in Tenerife

Teide, or Mount Teide, is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic. If measured from the ocean floor, its height of 7,500 m (24,600 ft) makes Teide the third-highest volcano in the world, and is described by UNESCO and NASA as Earth's third-tallest volcanic structure. Teide's elevation above sea level makes Tenerife the tenth highest island in the world.

<i>Dracaena draco</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Samanea saman</i> Species of legume

Samanea saman is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. It is often placed in the genus Samanea, which by yet other authors is subsumed in Albizia entirely.

Emeterio Gutiérrez Albelo was a Spanish poet and participated in the Generación del 27.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TITSA</span>

TITSA is the Transportes interurbanos de Tenerife, S.A. which operates the only public bus service in Tenerife, on the Canary Islands. It carries over 60 million travellers a year in a fleet of approximately 600 vehicles.

Iriome González González, known simply as Iriome, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menceyato of Icode</span>

Icod or Icode was one of nine menceyatos guanches that had divided the island of Tenerife after the death of mencey Tinerfe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Luis Sampedro</span>

José Luis Sampedro Sáez was a Spanish economist and writer who advocated an economy "more humane, more caring, able to help develop the dignity of peoples". Academician of the Real Academia Española since 1990, he was the recipient of the Order of Arts and Letters of Spain, the Menéndez Pelayo International Prize (2010) and the Spanish Literature National Prize (2011). He became an inspiration for the anti-austerity movement in Spain.

Jesús Álvaro García is a Spanish footballer who plays for Córdoba CF as a left back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilancones</span>

Pilancones Natural Park is located in San Bartolomé de Tirajana municipality on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain. Its area is 5794.4 ha. It adjoins Roque Nublo country park to the north, and Fataga protected area to the east. The park plays an important role in soil protection and the replenishment of an aquifer, along which there are several ravines running southward which are of geomorphological interest and landscape value. The pine forests on hilltops are a well-preserved habitat with abundant bird life. The park also harbours several varieties of cactus and spurge, and a number of aquatic habitats. The park takes its name from natural pools, formerly known locally as pilancones, which remain after the runoff of water. Throughout the area there are threatened animal and plant species, and features of scientific interest.

The Cave of the Guanches, or Archaeological area of the Cave of the Guanches, is an important archaeological site located in the north of the island of Tenerife.

The Hospital del Norte de Tenerife is located in the municipality of Icod de los Vinos, in the north of the island of Tenerife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parque del Drago</span>

Drago Park is a park and one of the main visitor attractions in Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife. Created at the turn of the millennium, it contains El Drago Milenario, a dragon tree thought to be around 1,000 years old, as well as a variety of other native plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tranvía Villasegura</span>

Tranvía Villasegura was a tramway that ran between Santa Cruz and La Laguna in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Opened in 1901, it extended to Tacoronte in 1905, and closed in 1956. A new tram system, Tranvía Tenerife, started operation along a similar route in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragos Gemelos</span> Two Dracaena draco trees in La Palma, Canary Islands

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.

<i>Dracaena tamaranae</i> Species of plant

Dracaena tamaranae, or drago de Gran Canaria, is a species of flowering plant endemic to the island of Gran Canaria, related to the dragon tree, Dracaena draco, and other species of Dracaena from East Africa. Since 1972, specimens of dragon tree have been identified in Gran Canaria with certain peculiarities. These were initially identified as specimens of Dracaena draco. However, a more detailed study concluded that it corresponded to a new species.

References

  1. 1 2 Krawczyszyn, Józef; Krawczyszyn, Teresa (1 June 2014). "Massive aerial roots affect growth and form of Dracaena draco". Trees. 28 (3): 757–768. doi: 10.1007/s00468-014-0987-0 . ISSN   1432-2285.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Drago Milenario De Tenerife: En Peligro De Extinción [2019]". Especies Extintas (in Spanish). 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Parque del Drago en Tenerife | Actividades en familia". Sapos y Princesas (in European Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Viajes – Drago Milenario". Daniel Prado. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Drago de Icod de los Vinos (Tenerife) (parte 2 de 2)". La Cantimplora verde. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  6. Mägdefrau, Karl (1975). "Das Alter der Drachenhäume auf Tenerife". Flora. 164 (4–5): 347–357. doi:10.1016/S0367-2530(17)31807-8.
  7. "El Gobierno estudia inscribir el drago de Icod en lista de patrimonio mundial". La Vanguardia. 22 February 2019.