The Dragon’s Blood Tree is an ancient plant that grows only on the island of Socotra, Yemen.

It belongs to the family of “agavaceae“, a particular dracena drago – Dracaena Cinnabari – that should not be confused with Dracaena Draco, which also grows in the Canaries and islands near Morocco.

Also known as the “upside-down umbrella tree” due to the bizarre shape of its branches and leaves. It is composed of bunches of dark green lanceolate leaves resting on the ends of short and fleshy twigs. It has a very slow growth and its older specimens reach millennial ages.

A legend tells us that the plant was born of the blood spilled during a cruel fight between a dragon and an elephant. The name “dragon blood” comes from reddish resin, cinnabar, contained in the leaves and in the cortex. This resin has been used since antiquity as a medicine due to its many beneficial effects, such as scented essence and pigment to color precious stones, glass and marble.

Socotra is an island that has preserved many typical characteristics of the first known vegetable forms, and the dragon tree, with its shape reminiscent of the first trees grown on our planet, is an example of precisely this.

A real island of wonders that, in addition to a rich fauna, Socotra has about 800 species of plants, 37% of which are unique in the world. Thanks to its unique biodiversity, Socotra was named a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008.

“The photos on this site are owned by users or purchased from image banks”