Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-07-16
THE GREAT DRAGON TREE DEAD.
1t Was Kind of Asparagus 90 Feet High
and 10. 900 Years Old.
lLo-don GlObel

1t Was Kind of Asparagus 90 Feet High
and 10000 Years Old.
lLo-don Globe.l
With an antiquity rivallng. probably ex-
cpeding, that of the pyramids OF Egypt /
and a reputation scarcely inferior, 10 is re-
markable how little notice has been
taken of the death of the colossal dragon
tree of Orotava. This gigantic, hOarv-
headed vegetable veteran died almost
suddenly a few years ago, and may
be said, like the deac0ns old mas
terplcce to have gone to pieces all at
ouce-all at once. and nothing trst-iust AZ
bubbles do when they burst After q
| baby hood of centuries decades Of matu-
rity. and decadence of ages. II does seem
pitiable that the departure of this wonder
Of the world should have evoked little or
no comment. Ina accordance with the
new theory that plants feel and have a
| hereafter II may be that the old dragon
tree is receiving elsewhere its need Of
Rffo a. ard reward ''' i'ns anu 'p''''D
Though called tree, in truth the re-
nOWned curiosity of Orotaya was nothing
Of the sort. II was "a kind of gigantic bloat-
Cd asparagus, and "a near blood relation 20
| the fragile, delicate lilies of our gardens.
/ But even Solomon ~ his least glorious
/ epoch would never have been jealous ot
| this phenomenon. for the dragon tree is
at every period of its strange growth
mOnstrous. uncOuth thlng-a creepy,
| cvil-suggesting, out-ot-ail-time creature,
| fit companion OF ungMuly pterodactyis
and gigantic sauranS. with some oi
/ which the ancient specimen 81 OroJafa
may have been personally acquainted
| in its Younger days. With ITS blood
/ red sap eXuding freely, though with curd-
| lug slowncss. at every wound ITS strange
/ crown of stih. strong, sword-llkc leaves 40
/ the end Of every octopus-hke arm. and IT'S
| scale-clad trunk. II Is not difficult e. trace
/ the origin of ITS name. lhr tree Wnlth
/ bears the golden apples is indigenous to
the Cauaries and little fancy was required
/ with an imaginative people TO turn tnis
/ monstrOus vegetable growth mto the
guardian dragon. Did 1t not bleed thu
/ red blood, did II not trlstle with
! swords. and WAS not its abode on those
/ isles of the Biest tar beyond the
gates of Gades. IN the ycufabie Gar
/ den of the liesprrides! lie ahclents
. ALWAYS spoke OF one dragon guarding tho
golden fruit, because the monster of O.o-
I talo was even then removed Iom ail as
! comrades IN size, bulk, and giH,ti less.
/ The old Guanchcs yenrrated the monster,
! though they were brought up under ITS
shadow and must have been Well accus-
toned TO its peculiauties. They regarded
]
/ in it's hollow trunk performing Druidl-
| cal rites, and they used its bio0d-red sap
! fhe dragons blood of commerce. Tor em-
/ balming their dead. When AlOnZo de LugO.
/ the conquer0r Of Teucuhe. came 10 Oro-
/ taya in 1913 he spared the tree, but
scandaliZed at the prOiane mysteries which
had taken place i'm Its interior. he con-
/ verted Its hollOwness into chapel Tor
/ holy mass. Humboldt in 1893 gives ITS
J alb. ORE ffa
/ and its circumference near the roots as A.
! feet. aad the diameter of the trunk az 10
/ feet from the ground " Is still T. English
feet" and he computed its age Rt lO,OOO
years. The opening was So large that a
/ table was placed IN II, round which four
! teen persons could seat themselves and
staircase in the interior conducted the
visitor up 90 the height whence the
! branches sprang
Slow indeed must have been its growth,
! for 400 years after the visit Of the first nayi-
! gators lie Dru measured the tree most care
/ fully, proving that during that long period
| the Increase had only been one foot az the
! base the other dimensions being practi-
cally identical. Since HUMBOLDT, account
/ the famous dragon tree OF OrotaVa was
/ visited by nearly all the travellers, hlsto-
Tians, monks, peddlers, and soldiers
/ who had the mildest glODe-trOttng
propensity. In 1919 an arm WAS
Wrenched of in storm, and about some
! forty years ago some interruptions per-
sons cut on a huge piece OF the mol
! low trunk and presented It 10 the Kew
/ Museum. Another storm in 1861 broke on
! the upper part, leaving the trunk alone
standing. A traveller at that time says the
| ground underneath was covered with
/ broken branches. some being IS feet IN cir
conference. When the land where the
/ tree was growing came into the possession
I of the late Marquis del SauZAl he nursed
/ the aged vegetable with loving care,
/ filed up the gap IN its trunk with ma
| s0nry, and did all that was possible % pro-
/ long its existence. Piazzi Smyth, who
/ saw it in 1856, measured the trunk
and found it sixty feet high above the
ground and 49, feet in circumference at
| that level and "A feet in circumference at q
/ height of IA feet. He says Proudly 1t
raises its antique arms above everything
around. But how il Is hampered An III
/ digenous Wild-laurel tree il absolutely IN
/ contact on one side and Lombardy pop
/ lar almost touching on the other, While
/ there are such numerous peach-trees, ole
/ anders, and oranges between and all about
that there is hardly single point from
which we can get fair view" The old tree,
moderately credited with 1000 years OF life,
has gone the way of all trees. but most
felicitously the Mdrquesa del Sauzal mas
| planted on its exact site seeding derived
/ from its most ancient progenitor md this
youngster il now a healthy plant some
I four feet high, looking-In shape only
exactly like fine long carrot lightly stuck
| in the ground by its taper end, and sur
mounted by a crown Of swOrd-shaped
leaves. The visitor TO Or0tava still climbs
up the steep hill above Puer 10 visit the
beautiful garden Of the Marquesa del
Sauzal, and see the spot where the historic
tree formerly stood. This baby dragon Will
probably not flower for twenty or thirty
years yet, and it will only branch after IL
has blossomed. In a nelghboring garden
there is a dragon which has not yet bios
somed, and yet il is more than forty years
old.
In botanical language the dragon tree Is
Draceyd dy-aoo. and is described as having
tree-like stem, which when the tree - very
old becomes much branded, each orancn
being terminated by "a crowded head OF
lanceolate linear entire leaves OF glaucOus
green color which leaves embrace the stem
by their base and on falling off at maturity
leave a ring-like cicatrix or scar. In old
age curious warts appear, and one from the
old Orotava tree has been preserved, when
is "a large as a gOod-siZed cOcoanut, be-
ing like that fruit in shape and It's rough
exterior. Though no particular care mas
hitherto been taken IN the Canarles
to rear these curious trees, there are stlii a
few fair-sized specimens for visitors to see,
one OF the oldest extant being probably
that at the gates of the cemetery at lcod-
1t is mentioned in the ancient chronicle
OF the conquest of the island of Teneritte,
and standing in solitary grandeur IS the
best specimen to study. There IS one
other good example at lcod de los vinos,
which maybe is even older. These dragon
trees. however. are small ana avsuruiy
young. when compared with the old, yete-
ran which until recently guarded the
golden apples in the Garden OF the hespe-