Plant Name

Scientific Name: Dracaena reflexa

Synonyms: Lomatophyllum reflexum, Pleomele reflexa

Common Names: Song of India, Pleomele, Reflexed Dracaena

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Evergreen

Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

Hawaii Native Status: Cultivated. This ornamental garden plant, houseplant, and tropical foliage plant is native to Madagascar and Mauritius.

Flower Color: White

Height: Up to 6 to 15 feet (1.8 to 4.6 m) tall

Description: The flowers are tubular, white, 6-lobed, and in branched clusters. The flowers are sometimes followed by rounded, orange-red berries. These plants rarely flower. The leaves have parallel, lengthwise veins and are solid green or variegated with yellow and cream, glossy, leathery, flexible, lanceolate in shape, smooth-edged, and spirally arranged along the branches. The branches are silvery brown in color and covered with leaf base scars from the fallen leaves. The variegated form has arching branches and an irregular growth habit.

Here in Hawaii, variegated Song of India is a popular landscaping plant for tropical gardens. The plants are propagated by stem cuttings. The leaves and leafy twigs can be used in tropical flower arrangements.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Liliidae
Order: Liliales
Family: Agavaceae – Century-plant family
Genus: Dracaena L. – dracaena
Species: Dracaena reflexa Lam.