Two hundred miles off the Yemani coast lies the Socotra Archipelago, home to one of the most beautiful and threatened trees on the planet – the dragon blood tree. So named because of its bright red sap, this tree isn’t found anywhere else on earth and the resin has been used since antiquity in products ranging from medicine and dye to varnish. It’s most distinguishing characteristic (besides its resin) is its shape. A dragon blood tree looks like an inverted umbrella and this helps the tree collect water from fog and draw it down into its roots, a process called horizontal precipitation capture. Because of its ability to provide water in an arid ecosystem, the dragon blood tree shelters 92 different plants beneath its branches, and 32 of those plants can’t exist outside of the tree’s presence. They have no rings, so we’ll never know exactly how old they are, but maybe that’s part of the mystery that makes these trees so special. Threatened by drought and overgrazing, the dragon blood tree must be protected so that future generations will be inspired by the world’s only tree that bleeds red.
Source:
theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/12/saving-dragon-blood-island-refused-let-tree-die-socotra-yeman
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