El Drago Milenario
Template:Wikidata Infobox El Drago, also known as Drago Milenario and Drago de Icod de los Vinos, is a specimen of Dracaena draco in Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife, Spain.
Description
The Dracaena draco specimen is located in Icod de los Vinos in Tenerife. It is 16 metres (52 ft) tall, with a circumference around 20 metres (66 ft). It has over 300 main branches. The trunk contains a 6 metres (20 ft) high cavity accessible by a door, with a fan installed to provide ventilation.[1]
It is one of the symbols of Tenerife. It was depicted on the 1,000 Peseta note. It is part of the coat of arms for the Icod de los Vinos municipality, and appears in local legends.[1]
History
The specimen's age is disputed. It is thought to be around 800-1,000 years old.[1] Alexander von Humboldt estimated it to be several thousand years old, but an upper limit of 350 years was later placed on it.[2]
It was declared a national monument in 1917. In 1985 it was tidied up, with a large fan installed inside the trunk cavity to aid air circulation and prevent fungal growth. In 2002 it was submitted to UNESCO as a world heritage candidate.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Drago Milenario De Tenerife: En Peligro De Extinción [2019]". Especies Extintas (in Spanish). 8 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ Mägdefrau, Karl (1975). "Das Alter der Drachenhäume auf Tenerife". Flora. 164 (4–5): 347–357. doi:10.1016/S0367-2530(17)31807-8.