剑叶龙血树 jian ye long xue shu

Aletris cochinchinensis Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 204. 1790; Dracaena loureiroi Gagnepain, nom. illeg. (included A. cochinchinensis); Pleomele cochinchinensis (Loureiro) Merrill.

Plants treelike, 5--15 m tall. Stems branched, sometimes to 1 m thick, reddish apically; internodes much shorter than wide; bark grayish white, becoming grayish brown with age, smooth. Leaves crowded at apex of branches, sessile, sword-shaped, 30--100 × 2--5 cm, leathery, base reddish, completely covering internode. Inflorescence terminal, branched, more than 40 cm; rachis densely papillose-pubescent. Flowers in clusters of 2--5; pedicel 3--6 mm, articulate distally. Perianth milky white, 6--8 mm; tube 1.5--2 mm; lobes 5--6 mm. Filaments flat, 0.5--0.7 mm wide, reddish brown tuberculate distally. Berry orange, subglobose, 0.8--1.2 cm in diam., 1--3-seeded. Fl. Mar, fr. Jul--Aug.

Limestone slopes; 900--1700 m. SW Guangxi, S Yunnan [Cambodia, Vietnam].

The dried resin, called xue jie (Ѫ½ß) or dragon’s blood, is used medicinally. The collection of this resin, together with habitat destruction, has made Dracaena cochinchinensis a vulnerable species in China.