Dragon tree from Icod de los Vinos - a living symbol of Tenerife

Picky dracaena

Dracaena (bo Dragon Tree it is Dracaena) has become a symbol strongly associated with Tenerife. Why with Tenerife? The reason is posts. This variety of dracaena (sometimes called Dragon Dracaena) is very rare on Earth. It can only be found in the Canary Islands and Madeira, and the oldest of them is just in Tenerife, in the town of Icod de los Vinos.

No wonder that crowds of people are constantly coming here to admire this extremely rare tree. It is worth noting that in total only a few hundred copies of this tree were added. Traveling around the island is worth looking for them.

From the point of view of cultivation, this is not a difficult plant, provided that it is in strictly defined conditions. This plant does not tolerate even a small change. It can be said that she has specialized in tolerating only specific environmental conditions. Hence its rare occurrence, basically limited to exceptionally stable islands.
Dracena Millenaria (Millennial Dracaena) is sometimes talked about the oldest dracula in the world growing in Icod de los Vinos. However, this is a bit exaggerated. Investigators of the problem are closer to the thesis that the age of this dracaena is, however, slightly smaller and safely gives the range between 800 and 1000 years (with the indication rather 800). Of course, "one-year-old" sounds much better than "eight-year-old", so in terms of marketing dracaena got the nickname Millenaria.
Accurate assessment of the age of the tree is a separate and not at all easy task. This is due to the peculiarities of the plant itself, the trunk of which does not have jars. This can be judged only by branching.
Dracaena Millenaria is over 300 branches, about 17 meters high, and the trunk at its widest point is over 6m in diameter (!!!). Given the very slow growth rate of dragon dracaena (after about 10 years, the young tree reaches only 1 meter high), the parameters of the Millenary Darcena are really impressive.

The Guanches (the first and only inhabitants of the island for centuries) attributed magical power to the tree. After cutting the bark or leaves, resin flows out of the tree, which oxidizes and takes on a blood-red color. The Guanches called her dragon's blood.

Watching the Dragon Tree

The tree is located in the Parque del Drago park, to which the admission fee is payable (recently it was EUR 5 per adult, EUR 3 per child). If you want to see a tree up close, then buying tickets is necessary. Vedas will basically go right to the trunk. The park also has a small botanical garden and an imitation of the former Guanche temple.
You can also see the tree from a bit further away for free. The observation point is located on the Plaza de Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres (there is also another tree in the square, very interesting in form). The GPS coordinates of the viewpoint on the Dragon Tree and the parking lot in the immediate vicinity of the viewpoint are given below.

Useful GPS coordinates

Viewpoint on the Dragon Tree at Plaza de Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres, GPS coordinates:
28°22’01.1″N 16°43’18.9″W
28.366978, -16.721925 - click and route

Parking near the Dragon Tree, GPS coordinates:
28°22’04.6″N 16°43’12.6″W
28.367936, -16.720177 - click and route

Icod de los Vinos

Being in Icod de los Vinos it is worth taking a stroll around the city in the neighboring streets. Established in 1501 by Spanish conquistadors, in the place of the Guanches settlement functioning here earlier, it has characteristic Canarian buildings. The city has a specific colonial atmosphere, which made an impression on me as if I suddenly moved back in time to the time of colonial conquests.

Residences of the local aristocracy around Plaza de La Pila, or even ordinary residential buildings, everything here immediately resembles the images we know perfectly from films. The difference, however, is that in Icod de los Vinos it is all real, at your fingertips and you can touch everything.

Tenerife - tourist attractions

On the blog you will find descriptions of several other tourist attractions in Tenerife. I grouped them into one category: Tenerife. See the list described by me attractions in Tenerife - [click].

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