|
Dragon's blood is a bright red resin that is obtained from different species of a number of distinct plant genera: ''Croton'', ''Dracaena'', ''Daemonorops'', ''Calamus rotang'' and ''Pterocarpus''. The red resin has been in continuous use since ancient times as varnish, medicine, incense, and dye. == Name and source == A great degree of confusion existed for the ancients in regard to the source and identity of dragon's blood. Some medieval encyclopedias claimed its source as the literal blood of elephants and dragons who had perished in mortal combat.〔De Hamel, Christopher. Scribes and Illuminators.Medieval Craftsmen series. Toronto: U Toronto P,1992. Print. 62.〕 The resin of ''Dracaena'' species, "true" dragon's blood, and the very poisonous mineral cinnabar (mercury sulfide)〔(Safety data for mercuric sulphide )〕 were often confused by the ancient Romans. In ancient China, little or no distinction was made among the types of dragon's blood from the different species. Both ''Dracaena'' and ''Daemonorops'' resins are still often marketed today as dragon's blood, with little or no distinction being made between the plant sources; however, the resin obtained from ''Daemonorops'' has become the most commonly sold type in modern times, often in the form of large balls of resin. Voyagers to the Canary Islands in the 15th century obtained dragon's blood as dried garnet-red drops from ''Dracaena draco'', a tree native to the Canary Islands and Morocco. The resin is exuded from its wounded trunk or branches. Dragon's blood is also obtained by the same method from ''Dracaena cinnabari'', which is endemic to the island of Socotra. This resin was traded to ancient Europe via the Incense Road. Dragon's blood resin is also produced from the rattan palms of the genus ''Daemonorops'' of the Indonesian islands and known there as jerang or djerang. It is gathered by breaking off the layer of red resin encasing the unripe fruit of the rattan. The collected resin is then rolled into solid balls before being sold. The red latex of the Sangre de Drago, aka Sangre de Grado, tree (at least seven species of ''Croton'' native to Peru, Ecuador and Brazil), has wound-healing and antioxidant properties, and has been used for centuries by native people.〔Meza,E.N. 1999.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「dragon's blood」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|