The Magnificent Dragon Blood Tree
Dragon's Blood Dracaena cinnabari
Dragon's blood trees are only found on the Yemeni island of Socotra. The Dragon's Blood Tree gets its name from its distinctive red sap. This scarlet sap condenses into a resin that was once highly esteemed. It was utilised as a medicine and a red dye by the Romans and other ancient cultures.
The Dragon Blood Tree's peculiar design, which resembles an umbrella blown inside out, aids their survival on the island's arid, shallow soil, covering the granite highlands and limestone plateaus. Rainfall is uncommon there, but mist occasionally condenses on the tree's delicate, waxy, skyward-pointing leaves and runs down to its branches, drop by drop. They, too, have a downward slope, sending small trickles of water towards the trunk and, eventually, the roots. The droplets must trickle down the tree since any that land on the scorching earth below will evaporate.
The trees are visually striking. Their branches develop in an outward forking pattern resembling a giant mushroom an umbrella blown inside-out.
Threats
Even though most of its ecological ecosystems are still intact, the population on the island is growing due to industrial and tourism growth, putting extra pressure on the vegetation due to logging, overgrazing, woodcutting, and construction infrastructure. Despite its vast distribution, the Dragons Blood Tree has become fragmented due to developments in its habitats. Many of its clusters are suffering from a lack of regeneration. Through overgrazing, human activities have significantly diminished the Dragon's Blood Tree population by feeding the blooms and fruits to the island's animals.
The gradual drying up of the Socotra Archipelago, which has been going on for hundreds of years, is one of the species' most significant risks. Unfortunately, the human impact has resulted in non-flourishing trees and a decrease in the duration of mist and cloud in the area. By 2080, increasing arid environments are expected to result in a 45 per cent loss in available habitat. Source Wikipedia