Grove English Communication Ⅲ
LESSON 4
Socotra: A Unique Island
Strange mushroom-shaped trees, about 15 feet tall, stand out against the blue sky, with tangled branches and a canopy of spiky green leaves. They are dragon blood trees, seen only on Socotra Island, 220 miles from mainland Yemen.
The trees are given that name because red resin, like blood, comes from the bark when they are injured. Recorded even by the ancient Greeks and Romans, this resin has been used in medicine, dyes and incense from ancient times.
Socotra Island, which is often called the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, was officially listed as a World Heritage site in 2008. The island is ecologically important because of its rich and unique biodiversity: 37 percent of its 825 plants and 90 percent of its reptiles can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
The survival of all these species on Socotra has a lot to do with the local people’s traditional ways of living. They know that nature conservation is the key to their own survival.