FoI
Gold-Dust Dracaena
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Gold-Dust Dracaena
P Introduced Photo: Kamala Sinam
Common name: Gold-Dust Dracaena, Spotted Dracaena, Japanese Bamboo
Botanical name: Dracaena surculosa    Family: Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Synonyms: Draco surculosa, Pleomele surculosa

Unlike other Dracaena species, Gold-Dust Dracaena does not have strap-like leaves. It is slow-growing shrub, and can eventually reach a height about about 1 m. Flowers are white, not prominent, about 1.5 cm long, borne in a branch-end globular cluster on a drooping flower-cluster-stalk which is 8-15 cm long. Leaves are smooth and leathery, about 7-12 cm, elliptical or ovate, with a with a short sharp point tip. Young leaves are green with attractive yellow or golden variegation patterns, usually spots or blotches. They are arranged spirally at the growing tip of the stems. As the stem grows, the leaves mature and the yellow variegation fades to cream or white, and the internodes lengthen. Pairs of leaves may appear to be in opposite arrangement, while clusters of 3-4 leaves appear as whorls. Gold-Dust Dracaena is native to W Africa, cultivated elsewhere.

Identification credit: Tabish Photographed in cultivation in Imphal, Manipur.

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