03 Aug Featured Tree – Dragon Blood Tree
Today, we travel out of Wisconsin to the little island of Socotra, 60 miles off the coast of Yemen. This island is the only place you will find this month’s featured tree, The Dragon Blood Tree.
Standing only 30 ft tall, the Dragon Blood Tree is an evergreen that can get up to 600 years old. It has a dense umbrella -shaped canopy that shades its root system from the hot sun. Using its long, stiff leaves that grow in circular clusters, it captures moisture from the monsoon season and channels it toward the root system. The leaves shed every 3-4 years to make room for the newly growing leaves.
White or green flowers in February take 5 months to turn into berries, which in small quantities can be given to livestock to improve health. In excess though, the berries are known to cause sickness.
This tree gets its name from the vermilion red sap it oozes. This resin was traditionally used for centuries for medicinal purposes and was even used in the varnish for Stradivarius violins. More recently it has been used in the production of lipsticks and dyes.
This tree is currently considered endangered since it doesn’t seem to be regenerating naturally. With the climate change, monsoon seasons have been lacking and not producing enough moisture to support the trees.
Hope you enjoyed reading about this new and interesting tree.