© Steffen Mokosch · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Dracaena fragrans
Toxic🐾Drachenbäume · (Dracaena fragrans)
Asparagus family (Asparagaceae)
Description
The dragon tree grows as an upright, barely branched stem topped by a crown of long, arching leaves — plain green or striped lengthwise in yellow to cream, depending on the variety. In its native tropical Africa, at altitudes from 600 to over 2000 metres, it becomes a genuine tree; indoors it stops at two to three metres. It counts among the most forgiving houseplants: it tolerates partial shade, long dry spells and the dry air of heated rooms, and is often sold as a rootless length of stem that sprouts once potted. Brown, dry leaf tips usually point to hard tap water or air that is too dry. It is repotted only rarely, since it prefers to sit a little cramped.
External use only!
This plant must NOT be taken internally. Use only as compress, salve, or bath.
Cornstalk Dracaena was rated in the 1989 NASA Clean Air Study as particularly effective at removing trichloroethylene from indoor air. Formaldehyde and xylene are also absorbed.
Sources: [1]
In traditional African medicine, leaves and bark of the cornstalk dracaena are used externally for wound healing and skin conditions.
Among the Chagga people of Tanzania, the cornstalk dracaena (known as 'masale') is regarded as a sacred plant and is planted around homes.
Sources: [2]
⚠ External use only
TOXIC to dogs and cats: saponins cause vomiting (occasionally bloody), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation, and dilated pupils in cats. For humans in normal use as a houseplant, not hazardous; all plant parts should not be ingested. ASPCA classification (accessed 2026-08-10): toxic to dogs and cats.
No safety data available during pregnancy. Avoid medicinal use as a precaution.
No safety data available during lactation.
Keep plant out of reach of small children. Consult a doctor if ingested.
Contraindications
- Do not use internally — saponins can cause gastrointestinal irritation.
- Pet owners (dogs/cats) should not place the plant within reach of animals.
Harvested part: whole plant (decorative)
- Time of day:
- Usable year-round as a houseplant — no seasonal harvest timing for the air-purifying function.
- Drying:
- Not used dried — exclusively as a living plant for air purification.
- Time of day:
- Leaves for folk external applications harvested in spring/summer when leaves are freshest and most succulent.
- Drying:
- For folk medicinal compresses, fresh leaves preferred. For storage, dry at 40 °C.
- Steroidal saponinsSaponinWhole plant
Main toxins of the cornstalk dracaena. Steroidal saponins are present in all plant parts and responsible for animal toxicity.
- FlavonoidsFlavonoidLeaf
Flavonoids in the leaves with mild antioxidant activity.
- Phenolic acidsPhenolic acidLeaf
Phenolic acids in leaves and bark; possibly contributing to wound-healing properties noted in folk medicine.
- TanninsTanninBark
Tannins in the bark of the cornstalk dracaena — astringent, supporting folk medicinal external wound applications.
- Trichloroethylene (absorbed)OtherWhole plant
Not an intrinsic plant constituent but an air pollutant that, according to the NASA study, is absorbed and broken down particularly efficiently by Dracaena fragrans.
- Formaldehyde (absorbed)OtherWhole plant
Formaldehyde is also absorbed from indoor air and metabolised.
- [1]MonographInterior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement (NASA TM-101766)(accessed: 2026-05-24)
- [3]MonographDracaena fragrans — Plants For A Future (PFAF)(accessed: 2026-05-24)
- [4]MonographASPCA Animal Poison Control — Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans)(accessed: 2026-08-10)
- [5]MonographCliniTox Giftpflanzen — Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl.: giftig + (Institut für Veterinärpharmakologie und -toxikologie, Universität Zürich)(accessed: 2026-08-10)
- [2]WikipediaDracaena fragrans (Wikipedia EN)(accessed: 2026-05-24)
Distribution in Europe
🪴 Grow at home
- ☀ Light
- bright, indirect
- 💧 Water
- weekly
- 🌱 Soil
- Standard potting compost
- 🪴 Pot
- 25 cm
- ⭐ Difficulty
- ★☆☆ beginner
- 🐾 Pets
- toxic to pets
Tips:
- Very long-lived — often reaches decades old.
- Water sparingly in winter (every 2-3 weeks).
- Brown leaf tips are normal in dry heating air.
Care tips are general indoor-gardening recommendations, not scientific sources.