Dragon’s Blood (Dracaena Cinnabari) Socotra, Yemen Bliss Pack, 25 gr

Deep red granules from Dracaena cinnabari - the umbrella-shaped tree that grows only on the island of Socotra. Softens into the charcoal, then forms a dark crust as it burns. Dense, earthy, with a quiet drama no other resin matches.

The Material

Hand-collected Dracaena cinnabari resin from the island of Socotra, off the coast of Yemen. The tree's umbrella-shaped canopy and silver-grey bark make it look closer to a coral than a plant; when the bark is cut, a deep red resin bleeds from the wound. The Arabic name dam al-akhawayn - "blood of the two brothers" - comes from a pre-Islamic legend.

The details

• BOTANICAL: Dracaena cinnabari

• ORIGIN: Socotra, Yemen

• SOURCE NAME: dam al-akhawayn (دم الأخوين)

• FORM: deep red granules

• NET WEIGHT: 25g (limited harvest)

• THERMAL BEHAVIOUR: softens and melts, then forms dark charred layer

• STORAGE: cool, dry, away from light

Worth knowing

Socotra is a UNESCO World Heritage island where roughly a third of all plant species exist nowhere else on earth. The dragon's blood tree is its emblem - slow-growing, drought-adapted, reaching up to three hundred years of age. Climate change and overgrazing have made the species vulnerable, and harvest is now strictly regulated.

This Product

Dragon's Blood is the resin from the strangest tree on earth - Dracaena cinnabari, found only on the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea. Used by the Romans for varnishes and pigments, by Islamic scholars for inks, by violin-makers for two centuries.

On charcoal it does something no other resin does: the deep red piece softens, melts into the disc, then forms a dark charred crust as the aroma deepens. Earthy, slightly leathery, with a faint dried-rose note underneath. The character is unlike any frankincense or copal in the range.

Reached for sparingly, for the moment that asks for something different. Each tin is a small fragment of an entire endemic ecosystem.