[3] A related tree of similar appearance, the drago, Dracaena draco, grows in the Canary Islands, more than 7000 km from Socotra.

The seeds are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) in diameter and weigh on average 68 mg.[5] The berries exude a deep red resin, known as dragon's blood.

[6] Like other monocotyledons, such as palms, the dragon's blood tree grows from the tip of the stem, with the long, stiff leaves borne in dense rosettes at the end.

[1] The first description of D. cinnabari was made during a survey of Socotra led by Lieutenant Wellsted of the East India Company in 1835.

It was first named Pterocarpus draco, but in 1880 the Scottish botanist Isaac Bayley Balfour made a formal description of the species and renamed it as Dracaena cinnabari.

It is considered a remnant of the Mio-Pliocene Laurasian subtropical forests that are now almost extinct because of the extensive desertification of North Africa.

Human activities have greatly reduced the population through overgrazing, and feeding the flowers and fruits to the livestock of the island.

Research shows that in coming decades the number of trees in this forest will decrease due to the lack of natural regeneration.

There are multiple efforts that are being developed to help create and support a sustainable habitat and biodiversity management programs on Socotra.

Also, efforts to avoid road construction in the dragon blood's habitat, and limit grazing need to be brought to attention.

[citation needed] By the 21st century threats arising from global warming and overgrazing have made it difficult for new trees to grow in wild.

As of 2022, about 600 saplings have reached the point where they no longer need regular watering, leading to hopes that a new generation of the tree may become established on Socotra.

[12] The trees can be harvested for their crimson red resin, called dragon's blood, which was highly prized in the ancient world and is still used today as a stimulant and abortifacient.

Greeks, Romans, and Arabs used it in general wound healing, as a coagulant, cure for diarrhea, for dysentery diseases, for lowering fevers.

Dragon's blood is also listed in a 16th-century text, Von Stahel und Eysen, as an ingredient in a quenching bath for tempering steel.