124J

Middle East
There is only one place in the world where the Dragon's Blood Tree is found
Published: 25 May 2025, 16:2
Dragon's Blood Tree. On the island of Socotra in YemenPhoto: AFP

A tree whose blood is red. The head looks like an umbrella, the structure is like a creature from another planet. The name of this species of tree is 'Dragon's Blood Tree'. It looks like a character from a fairy tale. However, due to climate change, this species of tree is now in a difficult fight for survival. Its opportunity to breathe is running out.

The adverse effects of climate change, aggressive livestock farming and decades of war have pushed this species of tree to the verge of extinction. With this extinction, the ecosystem, culture and economy of an entire island are at risk. But on the island of Socotra in Yemen, a land of dust storms and war, a group of people are fighting for their lives to keep the tree alive.

Sina Qaybani holds a sapling shorter than her ankles on a high plateau in the dusty winds blowing over the Arabian Sea. She and her family are fighting to save this endangered species through a nursery. "For me, the death of these trees is like losing my own child," she says.

Once, this species of tree, famous for its mushroom-shaped, shaded heads and the blood-red sap that flows inside the wood, was spread across the island of Socotra.

Located 240 kilometers from the Horn of Africa, Socotra has been compared to the Galapagos Islands. It is a lonely yet enchanting island. It is home to 825 species of plants, a third of which are found nowhere else in the world. Its biodiversity is so amazing that in 2008, UNESCO granted it the status of a World Heritage Site. The flowering trunk of the ‘bottle tree’ that emerges from the rocks is like a sculpture made by an artist. There are also frankincense trees, whose twisted branches reach up to the sky in such a way that it looks like two hands raised in prayer.

But above all, the ‘Dragon’s Blood Tree’ stirs people’s imagination the most. It is like an unearthly tree. A living character from Dr. Seuss’s colorful fairy tales. About 5,000 tourists set foot on the island every year; most of whom come to see the surreal scenery of the dragon’s blood forest.

It is mandatory for tourists visiting Socotra Island to have a local guide and there is also a rule to stay in camps run by the islanders. This is because the locals are not deprived of economic benefits. But if this species of tree is lost, the only hope for the islanders’ livelihood will also be lost. Therefore, the trees are not only natural resources, they are the soul of Socotra.

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