This island is the only habitat of the one plant in genus Dendrosicyos, often called the "cucumber tree.
This island is the only habitat of the one plant in genus Dendrosicyos, often called the "cucumber tree." It's not in the Strait of Hormuz, but the Portuguese explorers TristÃ£o da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque briefly captured and occupied this island in a 1507 attempt to cut off Muslim trade routes, before abandoning it due to the harsh (*) desert climate. This island's small medieval-era Christian population may have been converted by Thomas the Apostle while he was en route to India. Its most famous plant is an endemic, umbrella-shaped species of tree whose sap was believed to be the blood of dragons. This really weird-looking island, a biodiversity ► hotspot that is often compared to the Galapagos, lies southeast of the Gulf of Aden. For 10 points, name this isolated island in the Indian Ocean, owned by Yemen.	
This island is the only habitat of the one plant in genus Dendrosicyos, often called the "cucumber tree.
Socotra