Dracaena surculosa, called the gold dust dracaena and spotted dracaena, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to west and west-central tropical Africa, from Guinea to the Republic of the Congo.[2][1] Its cultivar 'Florida Beauty' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3]
| Dracaena surculosa | |
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| Habit | |
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| Close-up of flower | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Nolinoideae |
| Genus: | Dracaena |
| Species: | D. surculosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Dracaena surculosa | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Subtaxa
editThe following varieties are accepted:[1]
- Dracaena surculosa var. maculata Hook.f.
- Dracaena surculosa var. surculosa
Description
editA branched shrub or small tree that commonly grows less than 4 m in height but occasionally reaches 8 m, it has reddish brown tuberous roots that sometimes produce canelike shoots that are sometimes clad in thin greenish to white phrophylls.[4] Leaves are concolorous or variageted, glossy bright to dark green above and sometimes infused with white to yellowish dots; they are arranged in pseudowhorls with margins that are sometimes rough or smooth, apex is acuminate and base is cunneate.[4] Leaflets can reach up to 20 cm long and 7 cm wide and are elliptic in outline. Flowers are greenish to white. Fruits is orange to bright red in colour, globose and up to 2 cm in diameter.[4]
Distribution and habitat
editOccurs naturally in West Africa from Guinea westwards to Cameroon.[5]
Uses
editCommonly cultivated in botanical gardens and used as an ornamental plant.[5]
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Dracaena surculosa 'Florida Beauty' -
Dracaena surculosa 'Milky Way' -
Fruit -
Dracaena surculosa var. maculata
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Media related to Dracaena surculosa at Wikimedia Commons
References
edit- ^ a b c "Dracaena surculosa Lindl". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Dracaena surculosa gold dust dracaena". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
Other common names; spotted dracaena
- ^ "Dracaena surculosa 'Florida Beauty' (v) spotted dracaena 'Florida Beauty'". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ a b c Bos, J. 1984. Dracaena in West Africa, Wageningen: Agricultural University Wageningen.
- ^ a b Mwachala, Geoffrey (2005). Systematics and ecology of Dracaena L. (Ruscaceae) in Central, East and Southern Africa (PhD thesis). Universität Koblenz-Landau.