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Culinary

Where Is the Largest Collection of Rarest Plants Found?

Allison Boelcke
By Allison Boelcke
Updated Sep 20, 2014
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The largest collection of rarest plants is found on the island of Socotra, located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Yemen. Socotra is home to approximately 800 species of plants, and over 33% of them are thought to be unique to the island and not found anywhere else in the world. The island’s collection of rare plants is generally not seen by many tourists because the island belongs to Yemen, which has very strict regulations regarding tourists. In 2008, Socotra was named as a Natural World Heritage Site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which recognizes natural geographical phenomenon.

More about the plants of Socotra:

  • The Socotra fig tree Dorstenia gigas is thought to not require soil to grow and samples have even been found to grow against limestone rock.
  • Some of the plant species native to Socotra are thought to date back over 20 million years.
  • The island’s Dragon Blood Tree was named by traders who thought the plant’s red sap was actually the blood of the dragon.
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Discussion Comments

By Chmander — On Sep 21, 2014

While these tidbits and bullet points do offer some interesting information, on the other hand, one thing I have always wondered is how the researchers record their information in the first place.

By Viranty — On Sep 21, 2014

Even though this is the largest collection of rarest plants found, it leads me to wonder if there are some species of plants out there that not only no longer exist, but scientists haven't even discovered them yet. After all, over the course of many years, researchers and the like have made some amazing discoveries through their knowledge and thorough calculations. On the other hand, don't forget that in many instances, new things are always being discovered. There's always something unexpected waiting around the corner, and just when everything seems to be figured out, a new discovery comes about the contradicts what was previously thought to be correct. All in all, it's definitely something interesting to think about.

By RoyalSpyder — On Sep 20, 2014

After reading this article, does anyone else wonder just how many species of plants there are? I will admit that these are some rather fascinating tidbits of information, especially taking into consideration that one of the islands near the Indian Ocean contains many plants that supposedly aren't found anywhere else in the world. While I do wonder what these plants look like, on the other hand, I don't quite think that matters much.

All in all, one of the most interesting things about our plants is that in some ways, they're even more diverse than we are as the human species, also noting that there are many plants that people don't know even know about. Made even more interesting that the plants have been around for endless centuries, it makes the mystery all the more intriguing.

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