Lycium is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The genus has a disjunct distribution around the globe, with species occurring on most continents in temperate and subtropical regions. South America has the most species, followed by North America and southern Africa. There are several scattered across Europe and Asia, and one is native to Australia. Common English names for plants of this genus include box-thorn, wolfberry, and desert-thorn. Plants of the World Online currently accepts 101 species. Other estimates are of 70 to 80 species.
Hibiscus quattenensis is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hibiscus, in the family Malvaceae. It is endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen. It is common on the coastal plains and dry limestone foothills and plateaus of southwestern Socotra from sea level to 600 metres elevation, where it grows in Croton socotranus shrubland and succulent shrubland.
Panicum rigidum is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a perennial endemic to the islands of Socotra, Samhah, and Abd al Kuri in the Socotra Archipelago, located off the coast of east Africa and politically part of Yemen. It grows in dwarf shrubland and woody-herb communities on desertic plains and rocky slopes from sea level to 600 metres elevation.
Hypericum balfourii is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It grows in mountain shrubland dominated by Cephalocroton. It is usually found on granite terrain above 600 meters in elevation.
Hypericum fieriense is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It grows in mountain shrubland dominated by Cephalocroton, where it can be found with the endemic tree Dracaena cinnabari. It is rarer than other local shrubby Hypericum species. It can be distinguished from them by its pubescent herbage.
Hypericum scopulorum is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, an island archipelago that is part of Yemen. It is a common plant in shrubland habitat, and it is a dominant species in some areas along with Cephalocroton and another local endemic, Libinhania rosulata.
Kohautia socotrana is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a subshrub endemic to Socotra island of Yemen, off the coast of Africa. It is widespread in lower-elevation shrublands and woodlands, including windswept grassland and shrubland on coastal plains and limestone plateaus, deciduous woodland in wadis, and semi-deciduous woodland on limestone plateaus, from sea level to 600 metres elevation.
Kraussia socotrana is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to Socotra, Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and rocky areas. The type was collected from Wadi Irih on the Nogad Plain.
Limonium sokotranum is a species of plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a subshrub or shrub endemic to Yemen's Socotra Archipelago, where it is native to the islands of Socotra, Samhah, and Abd al Kuri. Its grows in coastal dwarf shrubland and inland cliffs and rocky areas from sea-level to 550 metres elevation.
Nanorrhinum kuriense is a species of plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is an annual native to the islands of Abd al Kuri and Samhah in Yemen's Socotra Archipelago. It grows on dry rocky slopes, and on open sandy plains often in the shade of boulders, from sea level to 500 metres elevation.
Oldenlandia pulvinata is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a cushion-forming subshrub endemic to the islands of Socotra, Abd al Kuri, and Samhah in Yemen's Socotra Archipelago. It is widespread in shrubland and in rocky areas on plains and limestone plateaus from sea level to 800 metres elevation.
Dirichletia virgata, synonym Placopoda virgata, is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a shrub endemic to the islands of Socotra and Samhah in Yemen's Socotra Archipelago. It is widespread plant in low-elevation shrublands and woodlands, including Croton socotranus shrubland and drought-deciduous woodland, on coastal plains, dry foothills, and limestone plateaus from 10 to 600 metres elevation.
Xylocalyx asper is a species of plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is a subshrub endemic to the islands of Socotra and Samhah in Yemen's Socotra Archipelago. It grows on coastal plains and dry foothills, and less commonly on limestone plateaus, from sea level to 600 metres elevation. It grows at lower elevations than X. aculeolatus.
The Socotra Island xeric shrublands is a terrestrial ecoregion that covers the large island of Socotra and several smaller islands that constitute the Socotra Archipelago. The archipelago is in the western Indian Ocean, east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. Politically the archipelago is part of Yemen, and lies south of the Yemeni mainland.
Dendrosicyos is a monotypic genus in the plant family Cucurbitaceae. The only species is Dendrosicyos socotranus, the cucumber tree. The species is endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen, and is the only species in the Cucurbitaceae to grow in a tree form. The species name was originally spelled D. socotrana, but this is corrected to masculine grammatical gender according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.
Cissus subaphylla is a low shrub in the grape family Vitaceae. It is endemic to the Yemeni islands of Socotra and Samhah. The plant grows mainly in dry, low-lying areas on alluvial fans or on limestone slopes, and is rarely found above elevations of 300 metres (980 ft), where it is replaced by C. hamaderohensis. It does not have the climbing habit of other Cissus species, and its stems are flattened and gray-green in colour, with relatively small leaves and flowers. The tangled mats of C. subaphylla stems act as a protective covering for plants regularly eaten by goats and other browsing animals; the plant is thus important in the rehabilitation of species such as Dendrosicyos, Maerua and Commiphora.
Ariosoma sokotranum is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Emma Stanislavovna Karmovskaya. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from Sokotra Island, in the western Indian Ocean.
The Socotra Archipelago, officially the Socotra Archipelago Governorate, abbreviated to Socotra Governorate, is one of the governorates of Yemen. It includes a number of islands in the Indian Ocean south of mainland Yemen, the largest of which is Socotra.
The wildlife of Yemen is substantial and varied. Yemen is a large country in the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula with several geographic regions, each with a diversity of plants and animals adapted to their own particular habitats. As well as high mountains and deserts, there is a coastal plain and long coastline. The country has links with Europe and Asia, and the continent of Africa is close at hand. The flora and fauna have influences from all these regions and the country also serves as a staging post for migratory birds.
The Socotran pipistrelle or Lanza's pipistrelle is an endangered species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is endemic to Socotra Island in Yemen, and is the only mammal thought to be endemic to the island.
