Dracaena goldieana, or queen of Dracaenas,[1] is a tropical shrub in the genus Dracaena, native to Central Africa and Nigeria. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, valued for its richly variegated foliage.[2]
Dracaena goldieana is a small, rhizomatous understory shrub or subshrub growing to 30–60 cm high with a slender stem, up to 1 cm in diameter. The ovate leaves, which measure 18–30 cm long and up to 6.5 cm wide, terminate in a filiform (threadlike) mucro. The leaves are dark green, retained along the entire stem, and are variegated with transverse bands of light grey.[3]
The flowers of D. goldieana are sessile, white in colour, and form dense clusters 25-30 mm long.[3]
Dracaena goldieana is native to Nigeria and western Central Africa, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Zaire. It has also been introduced to Trinidad and Tobago.