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DRAGON'S BLOOD
This iconic and beautiful tree is called a Dracaena cinnabari, commonly known as the Dragon's Blood tree. It grows on the island of Socotra in Yemen and is currently under threat from overexploitation, tourism, invasive species, overgrazing, and climate change. Local conservation efforts are currently helping this threatened species, with many Socotrans actively planting guarded nurseries to protect their sacred trees.
With continued armed conflict in Yemen, many of the countries wildlife and native flora have come under threat of extinction. Socotra is becoming more and more isolated from the mainland, putting economic pressure on an already struggling population of native people. Roughly 30% of Socotran biodiversity is found nowhere else in the world, further driving home the importance of protecting this struggling region.
The rarity and conservation of these trees means that resin from this region is expensive and heavily controlled by local communities. This is where the problem comes from, when an item is rare there will always be fakes. There are many sellers online who claim to have 'pure' or 'true' dragon's blood resin from Socotra, often even stating in the fine print they cannot guarantee the origins of their own products. Not only does this degrade the quality of fair trade resin but this hurts Socotran sellers as well as drives overexploitation and illegal collecting of the resins for fast sale without care for conservation or ethical collecting practices.
Dragon's blood resin, a sweet and earthy fragrance with subtle hints of spice and vanilla, often used for incense, ink, dyes, and its medicinal healing properties. You can find it in every spiritual shop and nearly all incense and oil brands carry it as a scent or enhancer in their lineup of products. Often, this resin is used in spiritual practice for protection, banishing, amplification, and manifesting (among other things). Widely used and widely sought after, this popular resin is a must have for spell work, apothecary's, and even medicine cabinets (touted for being a wound healer, anti-inflammatory, digestive aid, etc).
So what's the problem? How did dragon's blood wind up in this section? The truth is that a large percentage of this resin on the market is not true 'dragon's blood' at all, but alternatives or resins taken from similar plants. So why does this matter and how does it affect you as a consumer.
'Dragon's blood' is a very broad umbrella term that many businesses and companies use to describe a rich earthy red resin, regardless of origin or plant species. Often it is impossible to know which species these products are derived from unless specifically noted by the seller or distibutor.
There are four plant genera that dragon's blood can be derived from:
-Croton
-Dracaena
-Daemonorops/Calamus
-Pterocarpus
Feel free to follow this link to learn more about the botany, chemistry, and medicinal properties of the various dragon's blood plants.
So how did this come up and why is this even important to us at Garnet Skull? When we opened, we had no problems getting our hands on true imported Socotran resin, but by 2022 the Yemen conflict had increased so drastically that this began affecting imports and trade in the region. Unable to obtain ethically sourced or fair trade dragon's blood along with the discovery of the conservation crisis following Dracaena Cinnabari, we decided to no longer carry these products in our store. Instead, we turned to the alternative species being harvested for resin, as we strongly support using sustainable alternatives whenever possible. We are frequently asked about this in our store and receive multiple calls every week asking for 'true' dragon's blood resin, so we figured this would be a great addition to this segment of our website. Hopefully one day, conservation efforts coupled with an end to the conflict in Yemen, will allow us to once again obtain ethically sourced and harvested true dragon's blood resin. But until that day, we encourage everyone to turn to alternatives and help support conservation in every way we can so that no more species leave our wonderful planet.