Species · genus Dracaena · Asparagaceae

Gold Dust Dracaena

Dracaena surculosa Lindl.

Also known as: Spotted Dracaena

Growth habit

shrub

Native range

Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo

Reference · D. surculosa

Cultivars of D. surculosa

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under D. surculosa yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Dracaena surculosa is a small understory shrub from the humid tropical forests of West and Central Africa, where it grows in dappled shade beneath the canopy. Give it bright indirect light and warmth, and let the top inch or two of mix dry before watering again, as it dislikes sitting wet. It tolerates ordinary household humidity but appreciates more when the air is dry.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 14 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–29 °C

Soil mix

Loose, well-draining mix with peat and perlite

Propagation

Stem cuttings rooted in moist mix

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Occasionally produces small fragrant flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Saponins — vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, drooling. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Gold Dust Dracaena yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.