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Dragon tree is a species peculiar to the Canaries it is closely related to the yucca and has barely evolved since the age of the dinosaurs. It has long been an object of fascination, not just among modern botanists and naturalists, but among all who are interested in extraordinary plants and flowers. That’s partly because of its curious form, growing like a bundle of separate trunks clinging together before bursting asunder to create the drago’s distinctive mushroom shape.
Even more interesting is the drago’s strange resin, which turns as red as blood on contact with the air. Though nothing is known of Guanche beliefs, many people insist that dragon tree was worshipped by these first inhabitants of the island, who did use its resin for embalming.
Drago Milenario is the main attraction of Icod de los Vinos, an attractive little wine town on the west coast of Tenerife. Dragon tree is standing 16m high and with a diameter of 6m. One of the Tenerife’s largest Guanche settlements was here when Europeans arrived, and the Drago Milenario was already mature when the Spanish took control. Dragon tree stands on the western edge of the town and is included in Icod’s coat of arms.
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