Other-worldy vegetation...

[choronr]

How is this for unique vegetation ...?

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=photos+of+Socotra+Island%2C+Yemen&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=photos+of+socotra+island%2C+yemen&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk=&form=MSNLCL

[Zairyn Arsyn]

they certainly are! unique and other worldy.

these plants and trees have been posted before on here... several years ago. as i remember

cool if someone made some models of these.


(uh walli?)

[cyphyr]

Socotra ~ somewhere I''d very much like to  visit. Noticed recently it was on the "You really don't want to go there and we can't help you if you get into trouble with the locals" section of the Foreign Office travel advice page. Shame.
Richard

[Oshyan]

Sad to hear that Richard, I too would love to visit one day...

- Oshyan

[PabloMack]

The mushroom-shaped trees are only that way because of browsing by hoofed mammals. They reach as far as they can and the tops are spared because the vegetation is beyond reach. Somewhere I read about a Russian study that concluded that 80% of the desert across Africa and the Arabian peninsula is caused by over-grazing by human livestock. If the area was not over-grazed, many of the mushroom shaped trees would not look out of the ordinary.

I also see some Egyptian vultures among the photos. These are known as being among the animals that know how to use tools. They have been observed using rocks to aid in cracking ostrich eggs. Their bills are thin and too weak to break into the thick shells. I have a field guide to the birds of the middle east. Even with the massive land abuse that goes on in that part of the world, it is surprising to see how much bird diversity there is. I just discovered that a newer edition came out in 2010:

http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Middle-East-Edition-Princeton/dp/0691148449/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361199742&sr=8-1&keywords=birds+of+the+middle+east