Dragonblood
Dragon's blood, known in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon as sangre de grado or sangre de drago, is the deep red latex tapped from Croton lechleri, a pioneer tree of the spurge family. The latex flows freely when the bark is cut and oxidises to a dark red on contact with air, and it is used both fresh and after drying into a hardened resin. It carries a documented history of use in traditional Amazonian medicine for topical wound and skin applications and is now also sourced for cosmetics, wound-care and nutraceutical formulation. The name dragon's blood is also applied to unrelated botanical sources, most commonly the resin of Daemonorops draco, a Southeast Asian rattan palm, and the two are not interchangeable articles.
Listed dragonblood markets
Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.
Grades
Sangre de grado is contracted first on confirmed botanical species, because the trade name dragon's blood is shared by unrelated plants that yield materially different chemistry, and then on the physical state, colour, viscosity and cleanliness of the latex or resin as delivered.
Species and physical state as the contracted article
4 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Croton lechleri latexFresh liquid latex | Tapped directly from the trunk by knife incision and collected in clean containers, sold fresh or refrigerated before it oxidises and thickens. |
| Croton lechleri dried resinAir-dried or oven-dried solid | Latex reduced by drying to a hardened dark red mass, the more stable article for export and long-distance freight. |
| Related Croton speciesDeclared, with the binomial name | Other Croton species yield latex sold under the same trade name in some markets; priced apart from Croton lechleri and never delivered against a Croton lechleri contract. |
| Unrelated dragon's blood sourcesDeclared, with the binomial name | Daemonorops draco rattan-palm resin and other unrelated botanical sources carrying the same trade name; a different article entirely and not a substitute. |
Colour, viscosity and physical cleanliness
3 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| ColourDeclared, against a retained reference sample | Deep red through to reddish-brown, matched to a sealed sample rather than scored. |
| Viscosity or hardnessDeclared, liquid latex or solid resin | Fresh latex is a free-flowing liquid; dried resin is a hardened solid. The two are separate articles with separate handling and packing terms. |
| Foreign matterPercentage by mass, maximum | Bark, sawdust and other plant material separated by hand and weighed. |
Chemical marker assay
3 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Proanthocyanidin contentPercentage by mass, by HPLC | The oligomeric proanthocyanidin fraction most associated with the material's traditional and cosmetic use. |
| Taspine contentPercentage by mass, by HPLC | A characteristic alkaloid marker used alongside proanthocyanidin content to confirm species and freshness. |
| Total solidsPercentage by mass | For fresh latex, the non-water solid fraction, which sets the effective price per kilogram of active material. |
Purity and contaminants
3 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Moisture contentPercentage by mass, maximum | Determined by oven drying, contracted for the dried resin article. |
| Heavy metalsMilligrams per kilogram, maximum | Lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. |
| Microbiological limitsColony forming units per gram, maximum, with pathogen absence criteria | Total viable count, yeasts and moulds, Escherichia coli and Salmonella, contracted where the material enters cosmetic, wound-care or nutraceutical manufacture. |
Origin, legality and delivery
5 grades
| Grade | Definition |
|---|---|
| Botanical originDeclared, with the binomial species name | The trade name alone is not a specification; the binomial name and the harvest region travel with every lot. |
| Wild harvested or cultivatedDeclared | Nearly all commercial sangre de grado is wild-tapped; cultivated sources, where they exist, are declared separately. |
| Legality and forest management documentationDeclared, with the permit or management plan reference | Forest management plan, collection permit or community harvest agreement, and phytosanitary certificate for export, travels with the lot. |
| PackingDeclared | Sealed plastic containers or drums for fresh liquid latex, bags or fibre drums for dried resin. |
| Sampling planDeclared | How many containers are sampled, by whom, and against which retained reference sample. Wild-tapped material is heterogeneous between trees and between collectors. |
Grades outside this list trade on request. Send us the contract specification you work to and we will price against it.
Locations
| Country | Region | We trade it as |
|---|---|---|
| Peru | Ucayali, Loreto and San Martin | Origin |
| Ecuador | Amazonian provinces including Pastaza and Napo | Origin |
| Colombia | Amazonian departments including Putumayo | Origin |
| United States | California and the East Coast | Destination |
| Canada | Ontario and Quebec | Destination |
| Germany | Hamburg | Destination |
| France | Paris | Destination |
Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown here.
Timing
Harvest is when the latex is tapped from wild trees. Arrival is when a shipment from that origin typically lands in a consuming market. The gap between them is drying (for the resin article), hand sorting, laboratory clearance and the voyage.
HarvestArrival
| Origin | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest and arrival | Harvest Jan to Dec, arrival Jan to DecTapping by knife incision runs year round on a rotation of wild trees, since Croton lechleri is a fast-growing pioneer species; collection is easier in the drier months when forest access improves. |
Windows outside this pattern trade on request, including carry and stock already sitting in a destination warehouse.
Common questions
What grades of dragonblood does SIP Global trade?
We quote 18 published grades of dragonblood, including Croton lechleri latex - Fresh liquid latex, Croton lechleri dried resin - Air-dried or oven-dried solid, Related Croton species - Declared, with the binomial name, Unrelated dragon's blood sources - Declared, with the binomial name, Colour - Declared, against a retained reference sample and Viscosity or hardness - Declared, liquid latex or solid resin. Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.
How is dragonblood graded?
Sangre de grado is contracted first on confirmed botanical species, because the trade name dragon's blood is shared by unrelated plants that yield materially different chemistry, and then on the physical state, colour, viscosity and cleanliness of the latex or resin as delivered. Grading runs on 5 systems: Species and physical state as the contracted article, Colour, viscosity and physical cleanliness, Chemical marker assay, Purity and contaminants and Origin, legality and delivery.
Where does SIP Global trade dragonblood?
We trade dragonblood in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, United States, Canada, Germany and France. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.
When is dragonblood harvested and when does it arrive?
Typical windows are Peru: harvest jan to dec, arrival jan to dec. Harvest is when the lot is taken at origin, arrival is when a shipment from that origin lands in a consuming market. Windows outside this pattern, including carry, trade on request.
How do I get a price for dragonblood?
Send the grade, the origin and the delivery window to the SIP Global desk. That is enough for a trader to come back with a level and a settlement route. 1 listed dragonblood market is published on this page, each with its full specification and terms. We take both sides, physical and financial, prompt to long dated.
Standards and data sources
The grading language on this sheet follows published standards. Trade volumes and tariff lines are public record. Verify anything here against the source.
- IPPCInternational Plant Protection Convention phytosanitary measures
- UN ComtradeOfficial international trade statistics by HS code
- ITC Trade MapBilateral trade flows and tariff data
- FAOSTATFAO production and trade series for agricultural commodities
Price this with our desk
Grade, origin and window if you have them. If what you are carrying does not fit the sheet above, describe it in your own words and a trader will take it from there.