The Socotra Island xeric shrublands cover the Socotra Archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, part of Yemen, lying east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula; besides the main island of Socotra the ecoregion includes Abd al Kuri, Samhah, and Darsa. Much of the lowland is open deciduous shrubland dominated by the endemic Croton socotranus with scattered Euphorbia arbuscula, the bottle-trunked cucumber tree Dendrosicyos socotranus, and frankincense (Boswellia), while the umbrella-crowned dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) is the ecoregion's flagship. The climate is hot and arid and strongly monsoon-driven, with mean annual rainfall ranging from roughly 150 mm on the coastal plains to over 1,000 mm in the higher mountains. Isolation has produced extraordinary endemism: about 307 of the island's 825 plant species are found nowhere else, and the archipelago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that the WWF rates Critical/Endangered. Gardeners will recognize several drought-adapted natives here, including the desert rose (Adenium) and the ornamental dragon's blood Dracaena.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 12.5°N, 53.9°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.5°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
1,474 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome
Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other deserts & xeric shrublands ecoregions to explore: