An island so strange it doesn't look like it belongs on this planet.
On an island called 'the most alien-looking place on Earth,' there's a tree that bleeds bright red. What does its shape look like from above?
An umbrella The Dragon's Blood Tree evolved its tightly packed, umbrella-shaped crown to capture moisture from the air and shade the soil beneath it, helping it survive centuries in Socotra's arid climate.
Sailors from across the ancient world left graffiti in a Yemeni cave for centuries. Why did so many different civilizations bother stopping at this remote island?
Trade routes The Hoq Cave contains nearly 250 inscriptions in languages from India, Ethiopia, Greece, and beyond, left by merchants traveling the Indian Ocean's busy shipping lanes between the first century BC and sixth century AD.
Portugal and Britain both tried to claim this strategic island centuries apart. Both gave up for the exact same surprising reason. What was it?
No good harbor The Portuguese abandoned Socotra in 1511 after just four years, and the British left in 1835 after only one year, both frustrated by the lack of proper anchorage for their ships.
On this isolated island, there's a tree that looks like a bloated green tower. It's the only tree in its entire plant family. What vegetable is it related to?
Cucumber Dendrosicyos socotranus, the cucumber tree, evolved a massive water-storing trunk to survive droughts, becoming so unusual it's the only tree among the thousands of species in the cucumber and squash family.
Scientists call Socotra the 'Galapagos of the Indian Ocean.' A third of its plants exist nowhere else on Earth. Why did they evolve to live so long instead of reproducing quickly?
Extreme droughts Because Socotra's dry spells can last years, many endemic plants developed an evolutionary strategy of longevity, growing slowly and rarely flowering, which now makes them dangerously vulnerable to climate change.
