Another Galapagos
Located off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, the island of Socotra contains some of the world's most astonishing and unique plant forms. More than a third of the 800 or so species on the island are found nowhere else on earth.
The Alien Beauty of Socotra
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Dragon's Blood Tree
Dragon's Blood Tree Found's yaylalarda sadece ada, bu bitkinin özelliklerini tıbbi gerçek ejderin kanı vardı sap olarak kıpkırmızı vaftiz ejderhanın onun tüccarlar inanıyordu ki kan ağacı
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Populace
ada Yemen, çok sıkı kuralları seyahat ile ilgili bir ülkeye ait olduğundan, Sokotra çok az sayıda turist çekmektedir. Hatta en maceraperest gezginler radikal İslam ile ülkenin dernek tarafından engelleri vardır.
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The Socotran Fig
This sample of Dorstenia gigas has grown against a limestone rock face. The plant supposedly does not need soil to grow.
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Granite Peaks
The island was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Natural World Heritage Site in July 2008.
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Lush
In ancient times, Socotra's various endemic aloes, like Aloe perryi, above, were used in medicines and for cosmetics.
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Cave
Monsoon rains have cut through the island's limestone to create an elaborate network of gigantic caves, some of which can be explored.
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Desert Rose Tree
The cliff-dwelling Adenium obesum has shiny, rubbery bark, which thins gradually and splits into skeletal branches, from whose tips fragile pink flowers erupt.
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Matrix
Despite Socotra's isolation, its plant life is under threat from human encroachment, imported flora and fauna and, some scientists say, climate change. Alarmingly, recent reports suggest there have been no new natural saplings of the dragon's blood tree.
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Potential
Strapped for cash and aware of the island's uniqueness, Yemeni authorities are working to find ways to increase eco-tourism to Socotra. "Socotra is the safest island in Yemen," says a tourism official. "We have never had any security issues there. People think Yemen is dangerous, but hearing the news is not the same as seeing for yourself."