Dracaena americana: Classification, Distribution, Characteristics, Ecology, and Ethnobotany
1. Dracaena americana is a shrub or small tree that can reach heights of 10 to 12 metres and has a trunk diameter of up to 30 cm. It typically has many stems.
2. The bark is peeling and grayish-brown in colour. Young branches have oblique leaf scars on them. D. americana has leaves along the length of its stems, in contrast to many Dracaena species that bear their leaves in tufts at the tip of their stems.
3. Bright green, linear leaves are soft and flexible, measuring 20–35 cm long and 1.0–2.5 cm wide at the base.
4. The inflorescence measures 20 to 30 cm in length, is paniculate, terminal, and branching into two orders.
5. Tepals are creamy white and about 7 mm long; the flowers are carried on short pedicels in clusters of 2–5.
6. A species description from Standley & Steyermark (1952) and Grayum (2003) states that the berries can be up to 20 mm in diameter, occasionally lobed, and contain one to three subglobose seeds that are 10–12 mm in diameter.