The Mysterious Socotra Island (Indian Ocean)

lonely_swift · Post time 31-12-2009 11:09 AM

Welcome to the Alienlands of Socotra, with strange trees like the Dragon Blood Tree! Youwould be inclined to think you were transported to another planet - ortraveled to another era of Earth’s history. Socotra Island, which ispart of a group of four islands, has been geographically isolated frommainland Africa for the last 6 or 7 million years. The archipelagofeatures narrow coastal plains, a limestone plateau with caves, andmountains which rise to 1,525 meters above sea level.

Socotrais a small Yemeni archipelago of four islands and islets in the IndianOcean off the coast of the Horn of Africa, about 350 kilometers southof the Arabian peninsula.

Likethe Galapagos Islands, this island is teeming with 800 extremely rarespecies of flora and fauna, a full 1/3 of which are endemic, i.e. foundnowhere else on Earth.

Socotrais home to more than 800 species of plants, some 240 of which areendemic to the island, and there are certainly many more plant speciesthat have yet to be discovered. The climate is harsh, hot and dry, andyet - the most amazing plant life thrives there.

ADragon’s Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari) is seen in front of the Skundmountains on the island of Socotra, Yemen. The tree is so named becauseany injury to the bark results in a deep red liquid excreting from thescar – compared in the past to the "Blood of Dragons".

Dragons Blood Tree

Thebranches spread out into the sky and from below appear to hover overthe landscape like so many flying saucers... and from above they have adistinct mushroom look.

There is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) which looks like nothing so much as a blooming elephant leg.

ASocotran Fig Tree (Dorstenia gigas) with a bizare swollen trunk thatalmost has human proportions grows against a limestone rock face on theisland of Socotra. The plants are one of over 300 plant species endemicto the island.