Appearance
''Dracaena fragrans'' is a slow growing shrub, usually multistemmed at the base, mature specimens reaching 15 m or more tall with a narrow crown of usually slender erect branches. Stems may reach up to 30 cm diameter on old plants; in forest habitats they may become horizontal with erect side branches. Young plants have a single unbranched stem with a rosette of leaves until the growing tip flowers or is damaged, after which it branches, producing two or more new stems; thereafter, branching increases with subsequent flowering episodes.The leaves are glossy green, lanceolate, 20–150 cm long and 2–12 cm wide; small leaves are erect to spreading, and larger leaves usually drooping under their weight. The flowers are produced in panicles 15–160 cm long, the individual flowers are 2.5 cm diameter, with a six-lobed corolla, pink at first, opening white with a fine red or purple central line on each of the 7–12 mm lobes; they are highly fragrant, and popular with pollinating insects. The fruit is an orange-red berry 1–2 cm diameter, containing several seeds.
Naming
The species name refers to the fragrant flowers, while the English name derives from a perceived resemblance of the stem to a corn stalk. Synonyms include ''Aletris fragrans'' L. , ''Cordyline fragrans'' Planch., ''Pleomele fragrans'' Salisb., ''Sansevieria fragrans'' Jacq., ''Dracaena deremensis'' Engl., ''Dracaena smithii'' Hook.f., and ''Dracaena ugandensis'' Baker. Other English names include striped dracaena , corn plant and Chinese money tree.The plant is known as "බෝතල් ගස් - bothal gas" in Sinhala, in Sri Lanka.
Uses
In Africa, ''D. fragrans'' is widely grown as a hedge plant; it is suited to frost-free climates, in USDA zones 10-11. Elsewhere, it is primarily popular as a houseplant, valued for its tolerance of a wide range of indoor conditions from full sun to low light conditions. It is also very tolerant of neglect, and has been shown by the NASA Clean Air Study to help remove indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene and toluene. The plant is known as "masale" and is a holy plant to the Chagga people of Tanzania.Several cultivars are available with variegated leaves. 'Massangeana', also commonly known as "Mass Cane", has a bright yellow central stripe on the leaves. 'Compacta' is more compact, for indoor locations. Other popular cultivars include 'Janet Craig' and 'Warneckii', which are often sold under the synonym ''D. deremensis''.
The cultivars 'Lemon Lime' and 'Warneckii' have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
In cultivation in the Neotropics, the flowers are visited by a few generalist hummingbird species like the sapphire-spangled emerald .
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