Dracaena ombet
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asparagaceae
Subfamily:	Nolinoideae
Genus:	Dracaena
Species:	D. ombet
Binomial name
Dracaena ombet Heuglin ex Kotschy & Peyr.
Subspecies[2]
Dracaena ombet subsp. ombet Dracaena ombet subsp. schizantha (Baker) Bos
Synonyms[2]
Draco ombet (Heuglin ex Kotschy & Peyr.) Kuntze

Dracaena ombet, commonly known as Gabal Elba dragon tree, is a species of plant belonging to the Asparagaceae family, formerly included in the Ruscaceae. It is found in northeastern Africa and the western Arabian Peninsula.

Description

It is a tree that reaches a size of 2–8 m in height, with a forked trunk that produces a red resin. The leaves form dense rosettes at the ends of the branches, these are linear with a broad base, 40–60 x up to 3 cm, gradually tapering to the tip that is sharp, thick and rigid, with smooth margins, flat to concave in the top. The inflorescence is panicle-shaped, 0.5 m long, highly branched, glabrous or pubescent, with tiny, ovate-lanceolate bracts. Whitish tepals, 4–6 mm long, are linear. Stamens are somewhat shorter than tepals; flattened filaments. The fruit in the form of berries 10–12 mm in diameter.^[2]

Distribution

It is found at an altitude of 1000–1800 m in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.^[2]

Taxonomy

Dracaena ombet was described by Heuglin ex Kotschy & Peyr. and published in Plantae tinneanae sive descriptio plantarum in ... 47, in 1867.^[3]

References

Bibliography

• BOULOS, L. (1995). Flora of Egypt. Checklist. Al-Hadara Publishing, Cairo. 283 p.
• BOULOS, L. (2005). FLORA OF EGYPT. Al Harara Publishing. Cairo.