At the end of the 19th century, the American botanist David Fairchild traveled the world to write the food and agriculture masterpiece "Food Explorer", which reads: I never thought that on the isolated island of Socotra, there are hundreds of species that are unique to the world, which can be called a modern Jurassic park. So what is so special about this sokotra island, located about 380 kilometers south of the Arabian Peninsula and about 241 kilometers east of Somalia, at the junction of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden?
I never imagined that on the isolated island of Socotra, there are hundreds of species that are unique to the world, which can be called a modern Jurassic Park.
The thousand-year-old dragon blood tree for which the ancient emperors went crazy
In addition to the long-term geographical isolation, the many rare species of Socotra Island are also related to the harsh natural environment of Socotra Island. The island is located at latitude 12.18 degrees to 12.42 degrees north, which is a tropical desert climate zone, hot and dry all year round. Although surrounded by the sea, due to the cold somali current along the coast, the "dehumidification" effect of the cold current exacerbates the island's arid climate, although there are narrow plains on both the north and south sides of the island, which cannot be cultivated, and the local people basically live by grazing and fishing. So Socotra has been rarely involved.
Although Socotra Island is surrounded by the sea, the "dehumidifying" effect of the cold current on the island has exacerbated the island's arid climate due to the cold somali current along the coast.
This extremely harsh climate also makes the plants on the island look particularly peculiar. For example, the thick-crowned, unique-looking dragon's blood tree has a dense canopy that resembles an upside-down umbrella, which is mainly to cope with the island's hot and dry climate and reduce evaporation. Of course, what is even more peculiar is that the sap of the dragon's blood tree is dark red, hence the name dragon's blood tree. The sap of the dragon's blood tree, which has medicinal value, can be used for medicine, dyes, and is also used in witchcraft, alchemy and folk magic, and it is said that the use of dragon's blood can improve the effectiveness of spells.
The thick-crowned, unique-looking dragon's blood tree has a dense canopy that resembles an upside-down umbrella.
The strange shape of the dragon's blood tree is mainly to cope with the island's hot and dry climate and reduce evaporation.
Sometimes visitors to the island will encounter locals who sell dragon's blood resin, which in ancient times was the "dragon's blood" that drove the emperors and nobles of various countries crazy, and it was "a tribute that only the emperor was entitled to enjoy". In Yemen, where medical resources are scarce, dragon's blood resin can be used in medicine to treat various diseases, such as wound healing, blood detoxification, rheumatism, gastrointestinal ulcers and diarrhea, etc., and is a must for the local elderly to fight aging syndrome, usually directly melted into goat's milk to drink. Of course, the first-time tester must purify and dilute after taking, otherwise it will stimulate and increase the burden on the stomach and intestines, causing side effects such as hyperactivity and abortion.
Sometimes visitors to the island will encounter locals who sell dragon's blood resin, which is the "dragon's blood" that used to make emperors and nobles crazy in ancient times.
In Yemen, dragon's blood resin can be used to treat various diseases such as wound healing, blood detoxification, rheumatism, gastrointestinal ulcers and diarrhea.
Due to the extremely long growth cycle of dragon blood trees, some of the dragon blood trees on Socotra Island have survived for thousands of years and can be called "living plant fossils". Although dragon blood trees have also been transplanted in Cape Verde, Morocco, Madeira, the Canary Islands and other places, their quality is far inferior to that produced in Socotra, because the older the dragon blood tree, the higher the medicinal effect and the relatively more yield. Dragon's Blood Resin has created a source of income for locals: in many parts of the island, people will sell "dragon's blood lipids" to tourists, ranging from $80-300 per kilogram.
In many parts of the island, "dragon's blood lipids" are sold to tourists, ranging from $80-300 per kilogram.
Due to the extremely long growth cycle of dragon blood trees, some dragon blood trees on Socotra Island have survived for thousands of years and can be called "living plant fossils"
In addition to the dragon's blood tree, socotra island also has a thick branch short, the bark is milky white, very similar to the baobab tree desert rose, its shape is very in line with people's imagination of alien creatures, in fact, the "strange" shape of the desert rose is just to resist the common typhoons on the island. They grow directly into the stone, as if they do not need soil at all, have a strong ability to grow, and the top of the branches grows many small pink flowers like stars, which are particularly gorgeous when seen from a distance.
The trunk is thick and short, and the bark is milky white, very similar to the desert rose of the baobab tree, and its shape is very much in line with people's imagination of alien creatures.
Desert roses have a strong ability to grow, and the top of the branches grows many small pink flowers like stars, which are particularly gorgeous when seen from a distance.
Although the desert rose belongs to the same kapok family as the African baobab tree, the tree does not store water and the annual leaves are much lower than the average of baobab trees. This is mainly due to the harsh climatic environment of Socotra Island, and the bottle tree on the island has evolved a special gene to transfer the water originally stored in the tree body to the roots that are not easily volatile, and the leaf nutrients are transferred to the flowers, so as to achieve the optimal breeding scheme. However, due to the island's expanding grazing, the total number of dragon's blood trees has shrunk by 45%, and some experts predict that they will become critically endangered species by 2080.
In the harsh climate of Socotra Island, the bottle tree on the island has evolved a special gene that transfers the water originally stored in the tree to the roots that are not easily volatile.
The embarrassing state of socotra
The current population of Socotra is about 51,000, predominantly of mixed Arab and Arab & black ethnicity, with a small population from Somalia and India. The economy is mainly based on animal husbandry and fishing, coastal residents are mostly engaged in fishing, pearl mining and small-scale agriculture, and inland nomadic herders raise cattle and other livestock, and also grow some crops for their own use; the vast majority of people live a traditional agricultural and pastoral life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
The population of Socotra is about 51,000, and the vast majority of people live a traditional pastoral life of sunrise and sunset.
The main town on the island is Hadib, the capital of Socotra island in the east, which has an airstrip that provides access to the outside world.
The main town on the island is Hadib, the capital of Socotra island in the east, which has an airstrip that provides access to the outside world. But the number of flights is small, and in previous years, flights were basically grounded due to Saudi Arabia's military operation against Yemen. In fact, if there is no war in Yemen, the economic environment of Socotra Island will be much better, not to mention tourism, the local unique fishing resources alone are enough to make tens of thousands of local people rich, only offshore fish more than a thousand kinds, local fishing only need to stand on the shore to cast a net to harvest.
There are more than a thousand species of fish off the coast of Socotra, and the locals only need to stand on the shore and cast a net to catch fish.
In 2011, south Korea's "Jewels of the Three Lakes" transport ship was hijacked by 17 Somali pirates on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka.
However, due to Yemen's weak control of Socotra Island, coupled with the fact that Socotra Island is located in Somali waters, in the past few years, when somali piracy was rampant, it only dared to go out to sea to fish when there were warships passing by, and more often than not, it would cast a net on the coast, although the harvest was not large, but it was enough to meet the daily food of the family, and the excess could also be taken to the market to sell some money to return some other rations.
The spectacular seascapes, snow-white sandy beaches, new creatures and emerald waters of Socotra's coastline remain solitaryly beautiful and unknown to the world.
Today, the spectacular seascapes, snow-white sands, novel creatures and emerald waters of Socotra's coastline are still solitary and beautiful, unknown to the world, and this treasure island has been sleeping like a forgotten pearl in the Indian Ocean, worthy of the name of "virgin island in the Indian Ocean".
Last Issue Review: Socotra Island (Part 1): The most alien-like island on Earth, Yemen in the Galapagos in the Indian Ocean
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