Dracaena surculosa

Dracaena surculosa
	Habit
	Close-up of flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Nolinoideae
Genus:	Dracaena
Species:	D. surculosa
Binomial name
	Dracaena surculosa; Lindl.
Synonyms
	Dracaena godseffiana Sander ex Mast.; Dracaena interrupta Harv. ex G.Don; Nemampsis ternifolia Raf.; Pleomele godseffiana (Sander ex Mast.) N.E.Br.;

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]

Subtaxa

The following varieties are accepted:^[1]

Dracaena surculosa var. maculata Hook.f.
Dracaena surculosa var. surculosa

Description

A 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

Occurs naturally in West Africa from Guinea westwards to Cameroon.^[5]

Uses

Commonly cultivated in botanical gardens and used as an ornamental plant.^[5]

Dracaena surculosa 'Florida Beauty'
Dracaena surculosa 'Milky Way'
Fruit
Dracaena surculosa var. maculata

Media related to Dracaena surculosa at Wikimedia Commons

References

^ ^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.

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[534384-1-1] "Dracaena surculosa Lindl". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 4 May 2021.

[2] "Dracaena surculosa gold dust dracaena". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021. Other common names; spotted dracaena

[3] "Dracaena surculosa 'Florida Beauty' (v) spotted dracaena 'Florida Beauty'". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.

[:0-4] Bos, J. 1984. Dracaena in West Africa, Wageningen: Agricultural University Wageningen.

[:1-5] Mwachala, Geoffrey (2005). Systematics and ecology of Dracaena L. (Ruscaceae) in Central, East and Southern Africa (PhD thesis). Universität Koblenz-Landau.

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