Dragon’s Blood Trees, Socotra Island
From the article by Ebden Diskin 5/2/21, updated from 10/9/14 from www.matadornetwork.com
NO ONE APPRECIATED the beauty of trees, and immortalised them in literature, more than J.R.R. Tolkien. “I am at home among the trees,” said Legolas the elf in The Fellowship of the Ring, but it might as well have been Tolkien himself speaking.
Under a black pine in the Oxford Botanic Gardens, the author sat and penned part of his famous trilogy, inspired by the unique trees and plants surrounding him. Tolkien viewed trees as living, breathing creatures with humanlike characteristics, and it’s easy to see why. From Japan’s bamboo forests to the ponderosa pines of Utah, the world’s trees are as diverse and beautiful as its people.
As we begin to think about travelling once again, here is the next in a series of 20 of the most unique trees and forests around the world that will give you a Tolkien-esque love for trees.
Found on the Yemeni archipelago of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, dragon’s blood trees get their name from the red sap they produce. Given the island’s separation from the mainland about 20 million years ago, unique flora has been allowed to grow there undisturbed. According to National Geographic, 37 percent of the island’s 825 plant species are found nowhere else in the world.
For advice and or a quote for work to your trees, call Andrew on 01256 817369, 07771 883061 or email him at Andrew@primarytreesurgeons.co.uk