Socotra dragon's blood trees

The Socotra dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) grows on Socotra, a group of islands belonging to Yemen in the Arabian Sea. It looks like a giant umbrella that has been blown inside out, and it is the national tree of Yemen.

The tree is named for its dark red resin, called dragon's blood, which seeps out when the bark is cut. It can reach about nine metres in height, with a crown up to twelve metres wide. The thick, upturned crown helps it survive in dry places by collecting moisture from mist and shading the ground. Its umbrella shape is unlike almost any other tree.

An unusual tree

Unlike most monocot plants, which are in the same group as palms and grasses, the dragon's blood tree thickens its trunk over the years and even has growth zones like tree rings. It grows from its tip and divides again and again into two branches, making a dense umbrella. Its stiff leaves sit in rosettes at the branch ends and are replaced every three or four years. Flowers usually appear around March, and the berries take about five months to ripen from green to black to orange.

Red sap and seeds

The red resin has been used since ancient times as a dye and as a medicine, according to the globe card. Birds eat the fleshy berries and spread the seeds. The trees' leaves are tough to avoid losing water. The sap that gives the tree its name is the reason for stories about dragons, and the tree is still a symbol of Socotra's unique nature.

On the globe

The model shows an umbrella-shaped dragon's blood tree. Look for the dense, upturned crown.