bild

Resin collection. Man collecting resin from a dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari). The dragon's blood tree is endemic to the Socotran archipelago of islands, meaning that it is found nowhere else. When wounded, the tree produces a deep red resin. Traditionally, this has been harvested by the islanders for use as a medicine, perfume and pigment. Socotra is located in the Indian Ocean at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, 340 kilometres (km) from mainland Yemen and 250km from the coast of Somalia. Its isolation has led to the evolution of a unique flora and fauna. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/DICCON ALEXANDER)