[caption id=“attachment_10400” align=“alignright” width=“293”] Photo credit Arja Mielityinen[/caption]

the funny looking tree (okay, there are admittedly a lot of funny looking trees around the world) in the picture taken in Icod de Los Vinos in Teneriffe, is actually not a tree at all, but a plant? It is called Millennium Dragon Tree (El Drago Milenario in Spanish), and there are claims of it being the oldest tree on the planet. But yes, even though it looks like a tree, it is nevertheless a plant - placed in the family of Asparagaceae, though in earlier classification systems, in the family Liliaceae.

Dragon trees grow in quite a few places, but the one in Tenerife might be the largest and oldest. Estimated age: between 600 and 1300 years, or more. It is impossible to know really since it isn’t a tree. But for a plant it is huge: 18 meters tall with a 20-meter perimeter.

But why is it called Dragon Tree? Well, when either the bark or the leaves are cut, they all secrete a red colored resin. This resin is said to be the dried blood of dragons, having some healing properties. Many of these trees disappeared due to a wide-scale extraction of this resin due to that belief, but today Dragon Trees are a protected species.

So if you happen to be in Tenerife, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the _El Drago Milenario - _however old it is! Hasta la vista, Teneriffa!