Dracaena fragrans

{{Speciesbox

| taxon = Dracaena fragrans

| image = Dracaena fragrans (2).jpg

| image_caption =

| authority = (L.) Ker Gawl.

| synonyms = Dracaena deremensis

}}

Dracaena fragrans (cornstalk dracaena), is a flowering plant species that is native to tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at {{convert|600|–|2250|m|abbr=on}} altitude.JSTOR Plant Science: [http://plants.jstor.org/flora/ftea009079 Dracaena fragrans]{{GRIN | accessdate = 22 December 2017}}

Description

File:Fiore di Dracaena fragrans.jpg

File:Dracaena fragrans, vrugte, Manie van der Schijff BT.jpg

Dracaena fragrans is a slow growing shrub, usually multistemmed at the base, mature specimens reaching {{convert|15|m|abbr=on}} or more tall with a narrow crown of usually slender erect branches. Stems may reach up to {{convert|30|cm|abbr=on}} diameter on old plants; in forest habitats they may become horizontal with erect side branches. Young plants have a single unbranched stem with a rosette of leaves until the growing tip flowers or is damaged, after which it branches, producing two or more new stems; thereafter, branching increases with subsequent flowering episodes.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 2: 96. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}. If a stem is damaged, it will ooze red latex.{{Cite web |title=Corn plant - Dracaena fragrans (Care, Characteristics, Invasive, Images) |url=https://www.picturethisai.com/wiki/Dracaena_fragrans.html |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=PictureThis |language=en}}

The leaves are glossy green, lanceolate, {{convert|20|–|150|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2|–|12|cm|abbr=on}} wide; small leaves are erect to spreading, and larger leaves usually drooping under their weight. The flowers are produced in panicles {{convert|15|–|160|cm|abbr=on}} long, the individual flowers are {{convert|2.5|cm|abbr=on}} diameter, with a six-lobed corolla, pink at first, opening white with a fine red or purple central line on each of the {{convert|7|–|12|mm|abbr=on}} lobes; they are highly fragrant, and popular with pollinating insects. The fruit is an orange-red berry {{convert|1|–|2|cm|abbr=on}} diameter, containing several seeds.

Cultivation

File:Dracaena fragrans CV Massangeana.JPG

File:Dracaena Fragrans Massangeana, Honolulu.jpg, Hawaii, U.S.]]

In Africa, D. fragrans is commonly grown as a hedge plant. It is suited to frost-free climates and USDA Hardiness zones 10-11. Elsewhere, it is primarily popular as a houseplant and valued for its tolerance of a wide range of indoor conditions, from bright indirect light, to bright shade (which brings out more variegation in certain hybrids) and even deep shade (where it will have a darker green color). It is also very tolerant of neglect. The NASA Clean Air Study indicated that the plant aided removal of indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene;Wolverton, B. C. 1996. How to Grow Fresh Air. New York: Penguin Books. however, these results were not applicable to typical buildings, where outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already removes volatile organic compounds at a rate that could only be matched by the placement of 10–1000 plants/m{{sup|2}} of a building's floor space.{{cite journal |last1=Cummings |first1=Bryan E. |last2=Waring |first2=Michael S. |title=Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality: a review and analysis of reported VOC removal efficiencies |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-019-0175-9 |journal=Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology |pages=253–261 |language=en |doi=10.1038/s41370-019-0175-9 |date=March 2020|volume=30 |issue=2 |pmid=31695112 |bibcode=2020JESEE..30..253C |s2cid=207911697 |url-access=subscription }}

The plant is known as "masale" to the Chagga people of Tanzania, who regard it as holy.{{cite book |title=History of the Chagga people of Kilimanjaro |last=Stahl |first=Kathleen Mary |page=60 |year=1964 |publisher=Mouton |oclc=1382652 }}

In cultivation, in the Neotropics, a few generalist hummingbird species, like the sapphire-spangled emerald (Chionomesa lactea), visit the flowers.Baza Mendonça, Luciana & dos Anjos, Luiz. (2005). Beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae) e seus recursos florais em uma área urbana do Sul do Brasil [Hummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae) and their flowers in an urban area of southern Brazil]. [Portuguese with English abstract] Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 22 (1): 51–59. {{doi|10.1590/S0101-81752005000100007}} [http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbzool/v22n1/a07v22n1.pdf PDF fulltext]

=Cultivars=

Several cultivars have variegated foliage. 'Massangeana' (also commonly called "Mass Cane"), has a bright-yellow central stripe on the foliage. 'Compacta' is more compact and suitable for indoor cultivation, with smaller, flatter and slightly pointed leaves. Some of the most popular cultivars include 'Janet Craig', 'Lemon Lime', and 'Warneckei' ('Warneckii'), which are often sold under the synonym D. deremensis.

The cultivars 'Lemon Lime',{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - Dracaena fragrans (Deremensis Group) 'Lemon Lime'|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/119080/Dracaena-fragrans-(Deremensis-Group)-Lemon-Lime-(v)/Details|accessdate=1 June 2020}} 'Massangeana',{{cite web

| url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/79003/Dracaena-fragrans-Massangeana-(v)/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder - Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana'

| access-date = 12 February 2018}} and 'Warneckei'{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - Dracaena fragrans (Deremensis Group) 'Warneckei'|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/89347/Dracaena-fragrans-(Deremensis-Group)-Warneckei-(v)/Details|access-date=1 June 2020}} bear the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 33 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 6 February 2018}}

=Propagation=

Dracaena fragrans can be propagated by cutting segments of old stems, about {{cvt|10|–|20|cm}} long, drying them in shade for a day, and then inserting them into moist perlite, sphagnum moss and/or sand, until they root. Signs of new root growth are usually indicated as new leaves emerging. Lateral, bushy stem growth (typically being two or three shoots) comes from old foliar scars, from the leaf "eyes" that are located growing up along the entire stem. Additionally, anywhere a cutting is made (at any point along the stem) is likely to be where new stems will form, where a leaf once grew.{{Cite web |title=Dracaena Fragrans (Corn Plant) Guide {{!}} Our House Plants |url=https://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/dracaena-fragrans |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=www.ourhouseplants.com}}

Etymology and synonymy

The species name refers to the fragrant flowers, while the English name derives from a perceived resemblance of the stem to a corn (Zea mays) stalk. Synonyms include Aletris fragrans L. (basionym), Cordyline fragrans (L.) Planch., Pleomele fragrans (L.) Salisb., Sansevieria fragrans (L.) Jacq., Dracaena deremensis Engl., Dracaena smithii Hook.f., and Dracaena ugandensis Baker. Other English names include striped dracaena (for variegated cultivars), corn plant (for the cultivar 'Massangeana'); Chinese money tree, and fortune plant.MacDonald, Elvin "The World Book of House Plants" pp.238 Popular Books

The plant is known as {{Lang|si|බෝතල් ගස්}} ({{transliteration|si|bōthal gas}}, meaning 'bottle tree') in Sinhala, in Sri Lanka.{{Cite web |script-title=si:බෝතල් ගස්. තරඟයක් ගෘහස්ථව වර්ධනය වන |url=https://si.atomiyme.com/%E0%B6%B6%E0%B7%9D%E0%B6%AD%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%9C%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%AD%E0%B6%BB%E0%B6%9F%E0%B6%BA%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%9C%E0%B7%98%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%8A%E0%B6%AE%E0%B7%80/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=si.atomiyme.com}}{{Cite web |script-title=si:බයෝ-බැබ් ශාකය |url=https://www.e-thaksalawa.moe.gov.lk/content/sub_programs/helanetha/province/np/manner/bayo.html |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=www.e-thaksalawa.moe.gov.lk}}