49. Draconis resina.—Dragon's blood.

Botanical name: 

49. DRACONIS RESINA.—DRAGON'S BLOOD. A spontaneous resinous exudation from the ripening fruit of Cal'amus dra'co Willdenow. Habitat: East Indies, Siam, and the Molucca Islands. A dark brownish-red, internally brighter red resin, coming into market in various forms, small granules, oval pieces in bead-like strings, sticks, and the poorer varieties in cakes and disks; breaks with a dull, irregular fracture; tasteless and almost odorless, but when heated emits a benzoin-like odor due to the benzoic acid which it contains. The red resin, constituting 90 per. cent., has been termed draconin.. The use of dragon's blood is almost entirely confined to the manufacture of paints and varnishes.


A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, 1917, was written by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M.