Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana

The genus Dracaena harbours a small group of arborescent species known collectively as the dragon trees — ancient, slow-growing trees of arid landscapes, famous for their umbrella-shaped crowns and their crimson “dragon’s blood” resin. Among these, the most widely known is Dracaena draco subsp. draco, the iconic dragon tree of the Canary Islands. But the Canary Islands are only part of the story. Wild dragon trees also grow in the Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco (subsp. ajgal) and on three islands of the Cape Verde archipelago, far to the south in the tropical Atlantic. The Cape Verdean populations were long treated as part of the Canarian species until a detailed morphological study revealed consistent differences in habit, leaf colour, fruit size, and pedicel shape. In 2012, they were formally described as a new subspecies: Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana Marrero Rodr. & R.S. Almeida.

This is arguably the least known of the three dragon tree subspecies in cultivation. It is rare in European collections, virtually absent from the amateur growing literature, and almost never discussed on forums. For gardeners in Mediterranean and subtropical climates, it offers a distinctive alternative to the Canarian form: a more compact tree with strikingly blue-grey foliage, adapted to tropical oceanic conditions — but with no natural exposure to frost whatsoever.

Taxonomy

Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana was described by Águedo Marrero Rodríguez and Rafael Serafín Almeida Pérez in the International Journal of Geobotanical Research (2(1): 35–40, November 2012). The description was based on a comparative morphological study of 92 individuals of Dracaena draco across its three main distribution areas: the Canary Islands and Madeira, the Anti-Atlas of Morocco, and the Cape Verde Islands. The holotype (LPA 28878) was collected on Santo Antão, Ribeira Grande, at 1,180 m elevation.

As with subsp. ajgal, the taxonomic rank of this taxon is debated. POWO (Plants of the World Online, Kew, 2026) treats the Cape Verdean dragon tree as a distinct species, Dracaena caboverdeana (Marrero Rodr. & R.S. Almeida) Rivas Mart., Lousã, J.C. Costa & Maria C. Duarte, following an elevation to species rank proposed by Rivas-Martínez et al. (2017). However, most recent scientific publications, including the key phylogeographic study by Durán et al. (2020), continue to use the subspecific rank under Dracaena draco. The subspecies treatment is also used by the nurseries that offer this plant.

This article uses the subspecific rank Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana, consistent with the majority of the scientific literature.

Synonyms: Dracaena caboverdeana (Marrero Rodr. & R.S. Almeida) Rivas Mart., Lousã, J.C. Costa & Maria C. Duarte (POWO accepted name, 2026)

Family: Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (APG IV)

Etymology

The epithet caboverdeana simply refers to the Cape Verde archipelago (Cabo Verde in Portuguese), where this subspecies is endemic.

Description

Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana differs from the Canarian subspecies in several consistent morphological characters, as documented by Marrero and Almeida (2012) and Maděra et al. (2020):

Habit: a smaller, more compact tree than subsp. draco. Typical height is 4–6 m, occasionally reaching 8 m. The trunk is stout and relatively short, 1–2 m (occasionally up to 3 m) before the first branching. The crown is wide and dense.

Leaves: linear, ensiform (sword-shaped), up to 110 cm long. The most distinctive feature is the leaf colour: markedly blue-grey or glaucous, noticeably bluer than in either subsp. draco or subsp. ajgal. This blue tone is accentuated by hot, dry growing conditions.

Inflorescences: conical-globular panicles, up to 100 cm long.

Flowers: greenish-white, or exceptionally off-white-cream. Stamens green to green-yellowish.

Fruit: spherical, fleshy berries. The fruits and seeds are reported to be somewhat different in size from those of the Canarian subspecies, contributing to the original taxonomic distinction.

Flowering interval: approximately 4.94 years between successive flowering events (Maděra et al. 2020), comparable to other dragon tree species.

Age estimation: the oldest measured individual on Santo Antão had 22 branch orders, with an estimated crown age of approximately 108.6 years (Maděra et al. 2020). Some trees in the archipelago are undoubtedly much older, but no reliable age estimates beyond this model exist.

Habitat and Distribution

Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana is endemic to the Cape Verde Islands (Cabo Verde), a volcanic archipelago in the tropical eastern Atlantic, approximately 570 km off the coast of West Africa (Senegal and Mauritania). It is one of only three endemic tree taxa in the archipelago, alongside Phoenix atlantica (the Cape Verdean date palm) and Sideroxylon marginatum — all classified as threatened.

Wild populations are found on three of the ten main islands:

  • Santo Antão — the largest and best-documented populations, on steep escarpments and cliffs between approximately 815 and 1,270 m elevation. Santo Antão is the most northwesterly island and the only one with permanent watercourses year-round.
  • São Nicolau — populations in highland areas. Palaeoecological evidence (pollen records) shows that dragon trees were once much more abundant on this island.
  • Fogo — the volcanic island with the highest peak in the archipelago (2,829 m).

The subspecies also grows sub-spontaneously (probably anciently planted or escaped from cultivation) on Santiago and Brava. Fauna & Flora International and the Cape Verdean NGO Biflores are actively working on conservation of the dragon tree on Brava, where the species is currently found across only about 16 km².

The plants grow on sea-facing cliffs and steep escarpments in humid and sub-humid zones, profiting from windblown humidity (the “horizontale Niederschläge” or horizontal precipitation of the trade wind zone). The climate is tropical oceanic: warm year-round, with mean annual temperatures of approximately 20–25 °C, very mild winters (minimum temperatures at altitude rarely drop below 15 °C, never approaching frost), and a pronounced dry season. Annual precipitation is highly variable depending on altitude and exposure, ranging from less than 100 mm in the lowlands to over 500 mm at higher elevations with trade wind influence.

This tropical, frost-free origin is a critical point for gardeners: subsp. caboverdeana has zero natural exposure to freezing temperatures and is expected to be the least cold-tolerant of the three dragon tree subspecies.

Conservation

The Cape Verdean dragon tree is threatened by a combination of factors:

  • Invasive species: aggressive alien plants outcompete dragon trees, particularly in disturbed habitats on Brava and other islands.
  • Overgrazing: grazing by goats and cattle prevents natural regeneration of young dragon trees.
  • Limited natural regeneration: populations are over-mature with few young individuals — a pattern shared with nearly all dragon tree species worldwide.
  • Climate change: species distribution modelling (Varela et al. 2022) predicts that suitable habitat for subsp. caboverdeana will decrease by approximately 28% by 2080 under expected climate change scenarios, primarily due to reduced precipitation and shifting cloud cover patterns.
  • Small population size and restricted range: the subspecies occurs on only three islands (plus subspontaneous occurrences on two others), making it vulnerable to stochastic events.

Dracaena draco as a whole is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Subsp. caboverdeana has not been separately assessed but is considered threatened. Conservation efforts are being led by Fauna & Flora International in partnership with Biflores (Cabo Verde’s first flora-focused conservation NGO), with activities including tree planting, management plans to limit grazing, invasive species removal, and the creation of new protected areas.

Of Cape Verde’s endemic plant species, 78% are threatened with extinction.

Cultivation

Growing conditions

Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana is still rare in cultivation outside of Cape Verde and a few specialised European nurseries (Canarius, Cycadales.eu, Rareplants.eu). Its requirements are broadly similar to those of the Canarian form, with the important caveat that it comes from a warmer, more tropical environment.

Light: full sun to light shade. As with the other subspecies, young plants benefit from acclimation to direct sun when moved from greenhouse conditions. Hot, dry conditions intensify the characteristic blue-grey leaf colouration.

Soil: very well-drained. The volcanic substrate of the Cape Verde Islands is naturally porous. In cultivation, a mineral-rich, fast-draining mix (loam, coarse sand, pumice, gravel) is appropriate.

Water: moderate during the growing season, reduced in winter. Like all Dracaena draco forms, the plants are drought-tolerant once established but resent wet roots, particularly in cool conditions.

Temperature: this subspecies originates from a tropical, frost-free climate. It should be expected to be less cold-tolerant than subsp. draco or subsp. ajgal. In temperate climates, it is a greenhouse or conservatory plant that can be moved outdoors during the warm months.

Cold hardiness — what is known

Grower reports specific to subsp. caboverdeana are extremely scarce, as the plant remains rare in cultivation outside Cape Verde.

Nursery assessments:

The nursery Cycadales.eu (which sells seedlings from the Fogo Island population) rates subsp. caboverdeana as suitable for USDA zone 9b but recommends keeping it frost-free. Rareplants.eu describes it as “still virtually unknown in cultivation.”

Firsthand grower observation:

At the Jardin Zoologique Tropical de La Londe-les-Maures (Var, France, USDA zone 9b), Jean-Michel Dupuyoo reports that one specimen of subsp. caboverdeana survived a frost episode in December 2025 with a minimum of −2 °C. No damage was visible on the foliage. However, the plant was growing under the canopy of a cork oak (Quercus suber), whose evergreen foliage provided overhead protection — a microclimate factor that likely attenuated both radiative heat loss and direct frost contact.

This appears to be one of the first documented observations of subsp. caboverdeana surviving sub-zero temperatures in a European garden setting.

Interpretation:

Given that Cape Verde has a tropical climate where temperatures never approach freezing, subsp. caboverdeana has no evolutionary history of frost exposure. It is reasonable to assume that this subspecies is more sensitive to cold than the Canarian or Moroccan forms. The survival at −2 °C under tree cover at La Londe is encouraging but represents a single data point under protected conditions. Gardeners in Mediterranean climates should treat subsp. caboverdeana as a frost-tender plant that benefits from overhead shelter (evergreen canopy, pergola, overhang) and excellent drainage during the cold months.

Propagation

From seed: the primary method. The same techniques as for subsp. draco apply: remove the fleshy fruit pulp (which contains a germination inhibitor), soak the cleaned seeds in lukewarm water for 24–48 hours, and sow in a well-drained mix at 20–25 °C. Germination occurs within 4–8 weeks. Growth is slow.

From stem cuttings: possible but slow and unreliable, as with all dragon trees.

Availability of seed: seeds of subsp. caboverdeana are much rarer than those of the Canarian form. They are occasionally offered by specialised nurseries (Canarius, Cycadales.eu, Rareplants.eu) with plants propagated from documented Cape Verdean material. Provenance information (island of origin) is important, as the three island populations may differ in genetic composition.

Pests and diseases

As with all dragon trees:

  • Root rot from overwatering — the primary danger, particularly during cool winter months
  • Mealybugs and scale insects on indoor-grown specimens
  • Crown rot after any cold damage

Distinction from subsp. draco in cultivation

For gardeners who grow both forms side by side, the Cape Verdean subspecies can be distinguished by its:

  • More compact habit and shorter trunk
  • Distinctly bluer, more glaucous foliage (particularly under hot, dry conditions)
  • Generally smaller overall size at maturity

These differences are consistent enough to be visible even on young plants, though nursery-raised seedlings may take several years to develop their characteristic blue colouration.

Biogeographic Significance

The Cape Verde dragon tree is part of an extraordinary biogeographic story. Phylogenetic analyses (Durán et al. 2020) show that all Macaronesian dragon trees — from the Canary Islands, Madeira, Morocco, and Cape Verde — form a single monophyletic clade, distinct from the East African and Arabian dragon trees (Dracaena cinnabari, Dracaena ombet, Dracaena serrulata). The group diversified throughout the Pleistocene. Haplotype diversity within the clade is remarkably low, suggesting recent radiation and possible human-assisted dispersal between islands.

The Cape Verdean populations were long assumed to be introduced by the Portuguese during the colonial era, but their morphological distinctiveness and their occurrence on remote sea-facing cliffs strongly suggest a natural presence. The 200–300 dragon trees found on the Azores (island of São Jorge), by contrast, show similarities to the Cape Verdean form and may indeed result from Portuguese introduction prior to 1500.

Sites and Pages of Interest

Bibliography

Marrero, A. & Almeida Pérez, R.S. (2012). A new subspecies, Dracaena draco (L.) L. subsp. caboverdeana Marrero Rodr. & R.S. Almeida (Dracaenaceae) from Cape Verde Islands. International Journal of Geobotanical Research 2(1): 35–40. doi:10.5616/ijgr120004

Rivas-Martínez, S., Lousã, M., Costa, J.C. & Duarte, M.C. (2017). Geobotanical survey of Cabo Verde Islands (West Africa). International Journal of Geobotanical Research 7: 1–103.

Durán, A., Menezes de Sequeira, M., et al. (2020). Iconic, threatened, but largely unknown: Biogeography of the Macaronesian dragon trees (Dracaena spp.) as inferred from plastid DNA markers. Taxon 69(2): 217–233.

Maděra, P., Vahalík, P., Drápela, K., et al. (2020). First Age-Estimation Model for Dracaena ombet and Dracaena draco subsp. caboverdeana. Forests 11(3): 264.

Varela, E., Guilherme, J., Romeiras, M.M. et al. (2022). Implications of climate change on the distribution and conservation of Cabo Verde endemic trees. Global Ecology and Conservation 34: e02028.

Cartereau, M., Baumel, A., Leriche, A., Médail, F., Santos Guerra, A. & Saatkamp, A. (2024). Germination niche of the endangered dragon tree Dracaena draco (L.) L. subsp. draco of the Macaronesian Islands. South African Journal of Botany 163: 188–196.

Marrero, A., Almeida Pérez, R.S. & González-Martín, M. (1998). A new species of the wild dragon tree, Dracaena (Dracaenaceae) from Gran Canaria and its taxonomic and biogeographic implications. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 128: 291–314.

Bañares, A. et al. (2006). Dracaena draco. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Lu, P.-L. & Morden, C.W. (2014). Phylogenetic relationships among dracaenoid genera (Asparagaceae: Nolinoideae) inferred from chloroplast DNA loci. Systematic Botany 39: 90–104.