SKU: 60521589418
dracaena cinnabari seeds

dracaena cinnabari seeds Dragon's Blood Tree (Canary Islands) – Experimental Farm Network Seed Store

Sale price$22.01 Regular price$24.46
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $6.12 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Aug 1 - Aug 6

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

dracaena cinnabari seeds Dragon's Blood Tree (Canary Islands) – Experimental Farm Network Seed StoreDracaena draco Origin: Canary Islands via California Improvement status: Unknown Seeds per packet: 10 BOTANICAL SAMPLE NOT GERMINATION TESTED Life cycle: Perennial Along with its cousin, the Socotra Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari), from an island on the other side of Africa, the Canary Islands Dragon's Blood Tree is one of the major sources of the historically important red colored resin known as "dragon's blood." Long used as a dye, painting

Dracaena draco

Origin: Canary Islands via California

Improvement status: Unknown

Seeds per packet: 10

BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED

Life cycle: Perennial

Along with its cousin, the Socotra Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari), from an island on the other side of Africa, the Canary Islands Dragon's Blood Tree is one of the major sources of the historically important red-colored resin known as "dragon's blood." Long used as a dye, painting pigment, varnish, incense, toothpaste, and ingredient in compounds both medicinal and magical, the garnet-red sap — which drips like slow-moving blood from any wounds to the plant's bark — has captured imaginations for thousands of years. Since the major sources of the resin were largely found on isolated islands, it was apparently easy for its marketers to pass it off as genuine dragon's blood — for few had firsthand evidence to dispute such tales. It is first mentioned (with the now-anonymous author acknowledging it comes from a plant) as a product of Socotra in a 1st century Greco-Roman periplus, a sort of first-hand travel and trading guidebook, called Periplus Maris Erythraeixi, which detailed economic opportunities for travelers and traders from the Red Sea across the Arabian Sea to modern-day India, almost all the way to Bangladesh (and including an overland route to China as well).

This species, Dracaena draco,  which not only is native to the Canary Islands, but also Cape Verde (Cabo Verde), Madeira, and a few places in western Morocco, is usually called the Canary Islands dragon tree or dragon's blood tree, or just drago. Early Portuguese introductions from Cabo Verde are believed to have given rise to the small population that still exists in the Azores as well. When the Swedish father of taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, described the tree in 1762, he called it Asparagus draco — and indeed it is still placed in the Asparagaceae family. But this tree is no simple asparagus. It has a very distinctive growth form: young trees grow upward as a single stem topped by a dense crown of long, yucca-like leaves; then after ten years or so, the first pretty white flowers form (looking somewhat like lilies), followed by orange-red fruits; then a crown of buds forms and the plant begins to branch; each branch grows for another decade or so, then also flowers and branches again, in a process repeated over hundreds or thousands of years until the tree has a large, strong, woody trunk, topped with a maze-like crown of interlocking branches topped with a hemispherical crown of green leaves, flowers, and fruit. The oldest, largest individuals are stunning to see.

When the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt visited the Canary Islands in 1799 he was shown a massive drago specimen in Tenerife that had been hollowed out by the indigenous Guanche people and used as a sanctuary long before the arrival of Spanish imperialist colonizers. The tree was 70 feet tall (21 meters) and 45 feet in circumference (14 meters) — and estimated to be 6,000 years old. Sadly, it was felled in a storm in 1868.

The resin from this species differs slightly from the resin of the Socotra dragon tree (which was known to Europeans for a millenium and a half longer), but upon its "discovery" in the 1400s, it began being used as a slightly more accessible substitute. It became particularly important as a varnish for the beautiful violins produced in Italy during the time of Stradivarius and his successors. There is little record of how the indigenous Guanche people (related to mainland Northern African Berber peoples), who arrived in the islands by the 6th century BCE, utilized the plant — because most of them were killed or died of exposure to novel diseases in the decades after Spanish conquest began (the language went extinct sometime in the 1600s) — but its likely they found many uses for it as well, as the local inhabitants of Socotra use theirs.

Today, dragon's blood is still used medicinally — primarily for wound healing, digestive issues, and pain relief — with scientists continually probing it for more uses. Modern research has found potent antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties, validating its traditional uses, and studies note few negative side effects. Bioactive compounds in the plant show promise in the treatment of diabetic wounds, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.

In most of the US, the tree can only be grown as a houseplant (and many people have very long-lived dragon's blood trees growing in pots, rarely growing taller than 4 or 5 feet over 50 years), but it can tolerate life outdoors in much of USDA Zones 9 to 12. It can tolerate brief dips below freezing, but prefers temperatures to stay above 50°F.

This California-grown seed comes to us from the good folks at Sheffield's Seed in Locke, New York.

GROWING TIPS: To germinate, soak seeds in hot tap water and let sit for 24-48 hours. Sow 1/4 inch deep, keeping soil warm (above 75°F) and moist, but not over-saturated. Seeds should sprout within 4-6 weeks. For potted plants, use regular potting soil in inividual pots. Put them in bright, indirect light. Do not leave roots wet. Trees grow in places that often see very little rain, so using a humidifier to keep your air more humid is sometimes best. You could also use the ice-cube method, placing a few ice cubes on top of the soil (away from the base of the plant) every week or two, to make sure you don't over-water them.

NOTE: The image of the old tree with the door in its trunk, comes from the Wellcome Collection, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom. It is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The image of dragon's blood resin may or may not come from this species, but all of the resins look similar (it may be Dracaena cinnabari, as the author believed, or Calamus draco, an unrelated species which produces a similar-looking resin, or Dracaena draco). It is from author Maša Sinreih in Valentina Vivod and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. All others are public domain images of Dracaena draco.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 60521589418

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell dracaena cinnabari seeds

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 15 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
A
Verified Purchase
Angelica
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
Great results
Its been a week and i already see the results on my skin ! Great product!!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2026
C
Verified Purchase
Chris Powell
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 5
Light, easily absorbed serum my go to for outbreaks.
I love Eczema Honey Serum. It has really done wonders for my Crohn’s dermatitis. I also use it on my hands. It really helps the extreme dryness of the desert.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2026
F
Verified Purchase
Faye
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
WONDERFUL PRODUCT
I wish that I could give this product a 10 instead of five. I started using this Eczema Honey Serum in December of 2022. I was experiencing some difficulties with my face. My face was dry, and itchy. I would scratch and scratch my face. Needless to say, as a result of my scratching, I started getting black spots on my face, very embarrassing. I started using this serum and thankfully, the itching stopped and the dark spots went away. I use the serum morning and night. The serum has a very light fragrance. It goes on like an oil but quickly absorbs into the skin. I like that this is a clean product.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2025
A
Verified Purchase
Audra K Waters
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 4
Great for sensitive skin
I usually buy this from a beauty retailer but they were sold out. So great to find it on Amazon
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
M
Verified Purchase
M. Papaya
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 5
Good moisturizer, not too oily.
I often times use this in the morning before starting my day and it tends to really keep it moisturized for at least 4-5 hours. This is someone who has really dry skin and it constantly always having to remoisturize throughout the day. Nonetheless, I would still keep up water intake and try not to touch your face too much after applying. Quality is great and it has a natural smell that is not overpowering. Would def recommend.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2025

recommand products