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Gold dust dracaena

Dracaena surculosa

Also called Spotted Dracaena

In Singapore: Gold Dust Dracaena, Spotted Dracaena, Japanese Bamboo, 油滴木 (Grown in Singapore)

Gold dust dracaena (Dracaena surculosa) is a branched shrub from West and West-Central tropical Africa, grown for its spotted, variegated leaves. It does best in warm, humid conditions with bright but filtered light, and it is often grown as a houseplant.

Family: Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Grows as: Shrub
Light: Bright indirect, Part shade
Water: Water when the top few centimetres of soil are nearly dry, and avoid soggy soil.
Soil: Peat-based or well-draining houseplant mix with some added perlite.
Temperature: 18–30 °C; protect below 13 °C
How easy: Easy
Safety: Mildly toxic: Leaves and other parts contain saponins that can cause mouth irritation, vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range: W. & WC. Trop. Africa
Climate: wet tropical

About

Dracaena surculosa, called the gold dust dracaena and spotted dracaena, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to west and west-central tropical Africa, from Guinea to the Republic of the Congo. Its cultivar 'Florida Beauty' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Where it grows

Occurs naturally in West Africa from Guinea westwards to Cameroon.

Uses

Commonly cultivated in botanical gardens and used as an ornamental plant.

Other Dracaena plants

Suji · Tree Dracaena · Lance Dracaena · Dracaena bacularis · Lucky Bamboo · Socotra dragontree · Dracaena concinna · Canary Island Dragon Tree · Fragrant dracaena · Zebra Striped Dragon Tree · Iguanatail · Dracaena pethera

[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dracaena surculosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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Know any plant.Grow it well.