Isaac Bayley Balfour

Dracaena cinnabari, the Socotra dragon tree or dragon blood tree, is a dragon tree native to the Socotra archipelago, part of Yemen, located in the Arabian Sea. It is named after the blood-like color of the red sap that the trees produce. It is also the national tree of Yemen.

Punica protopunica, commonly known as the pomegranate tree or Socotran pomegranate, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lythraceae. It is endemic to the island of Socotra (Yemen). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. The tree, often thorny, attains a height of 2.5 to 4.5 m (8 ft 2 in to 14 ft 9 in). It has reddish-brown bark when young, fading to grey as it ages and becomes less fruitful. Leaves are dark green, glossy, and opposite, growing up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long. The fruit are globose and 2–3 cm in diameter. Flowers and fruits occur from December and

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.

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.

Gentiana sino-ornata, the showy Chinese gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae, native to western China and Tibet. It is a low-growing semi-evergreen perennial growing to 5–7 cm (2–3 in) tall, with multiple prostrate stems 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long, bearing single trumpet-shaped flowers of a pure blue with a white- and green-striped throat, in autumn. In cultivation it is hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F), but requires a well-drained soil with an acid or neutral pH. It is suitable for growing in a rock or alpine garden. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural

Dorstenia gigas is a species of flowering plant in the Moraceae family. It is a succulent native to the Socotra Islands off the Horn of Africa.

Euphorbia arbuscula is a species of plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). It is endemic to the archipelago of Socotra in Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Scottish botanist Isaac Bayley Balfour described this species in 1884 from material collected from the Yemeni island of Socotra, where he recorded it as common. The species name is derived from the Latin adjective arbusculus "small tree". Two subspecies are recognised. Balfour had visited Socotra in 1880 and collected many plants. Within the large genus

Dirachma is the sole genus of the family Dirachmaceae. The genus had been monotypic, its sole species being the woody plant Dirachma socotrana, until a second, herbaceous, species, Dirachma somalensis, was discovered in Somalia and described in 1991.

Aloe squarrosa is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is from the island of Socotra, Yemen.

Euphorbia abdelkuri is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to Abd al Kuri, an island south of Yemen. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. The latex of the plant is toxic. As most other succulent members of the genus Euphorbia, its trade is regulated under Appendix II of CITES.

Kalanchoe robusta is a species of plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is endemic to the Yemeni island of Socotra. Its natural habitat is on rocky slopes and amongst limestone boulders in dwarf shrubland and low succulent shrubland at elevations of 300–750 m. While it is listed by IUCN as belonging to the order Rosales, Kalanchoes and other Crassulaceae are more usually placed in Saxifragales.

Roscheria is an endangered, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family. The genus is named for Albrecht Roscher, a 19th-century German explorer, and the epithet for its single species R. melanochaetes derives from Latin and Greek meaning 'black' and 'bristle', alluding to the spines covering the trunks. They naturally occur on the Mahé and Silhouette Islands of Seychelles where they grow in mountainous rainforest and are threatened by habitat loss.

Euphorbia socotrana (Soqotri šeber) is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is a tree or shrub endemic to Socotra in Yemen. It has glaucous leaves clustered at the branch tips, and pale brown or almost white bark. Its leaves persist into the dry season, and it drops its leaves in the summer and re-leafs when the rains return. It is common in succulent shrubland and semi-deciduous dry woodland on limestone plateaus, and less common in montane semi-deciduous woodland on granite in the Hajhir Mountains, from 450 to 900 meters elevation. Its population in the western Hajhir is

Aloe forbesii is a small stemless Aloe native to Socotra, Yemen.

Wellstedia is a genus of flowering plants traditionally included in the family Boraginaceae s.l., but placed in its own family, Wellstediaceae, within the order Boraginales, by the Boraginales Working Group. It is the only genus in the family. Species include: Wellstedia dinteri Pilg. Wellstedia filtuensis D.R.Hunt & Lebrun Wellstedia laciniata Thulin & A.Johanss. Wellstedia robusta Thulin Wellstedia socotrana Balf.f. Wellstedia somalensis Thulin & A.Johanss.

Trichocalyx is a genus of plant in family Acanthaceae. It contains two species endemic to the island of Socotra. Trichocalyx obovatus Balf.f. Trichocalyx orbiculatus Balf.f.

Rhododendron impeditum (粉紫杜鹃), the dwarf purple rhododendron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to southwestern Sichuan and northwest Yunnan in China, where it grows at altitudes of 2,500–4,600 m (8,200–15,100 ft). This compact evergreen shrub grows to 60 cm (24 in) tall and broad. The leaves are ovate, elliptic or broadly elliptic to oblong, 0.5–1.4 by 0.3–0.6 cm in size. The flowers are purple, violet, or rose-lavender, or rarely white.

Rhododendron alutaceum is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is native to Tibet and southwestern China (western Sichuan, southeastern Xizang, and northwestern Yunnan), where it grows at altitudes of 3,200–4,300 m (10,500–14,100 ft). This evergreen shrub that grows to 1.5–4 m (4.9–13.1 ft) in height, with thick, leathery leaves that are oblong and broadly lanceolate to lanceolate or narrowly oblong, 5–14 by 1.5–3.5 cm in size. The flowers are white to pink, with crimson spots and purplish-red basal blotch. The species was first described by Balfour and Smith in 1917.

Kalanchoe farinacea is a species of plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is endemic to the Yemeni island of Socotra. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland at an altitude of 100-800m. While it is listed by International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) as belonging to the order Rosales, Kalanchoes and other Crassulaceae are more usually placed in Saxifragales.

Croton socotranus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to Socotra. A shrub, it is dominant in the meterhel croton shrubland, co-dominant in the shirmihin d'efer mixed deciduous shrubland, and is found in many other shrubland biotopes.

Taverniera sericophylla is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. Found only in Socotra, the legume's natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The species is threatened by habitat loss.

Rhododendron fulvum (Chinese: 镰果杜鹃; pinyin: liánguǒ dùjuān) is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to northern Myanmar and China. In China, it is found in southwest Sichuan, southeast Xizang, and western Yunnan. It grows at altitudes of 2,700–4,400 m (8,900–14,400 ft). It is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 2–8 m (6.6–26.2 ft) in height, with leathery leaves that are oblanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or obovate, 8–20 by 3–7.5 cm in size. The undersides are felted with a striking cinnamon colour. The flowers, borne in trusses in spring, are loosely

Rhododendron araiophyllum (窄叶杜鹃) is a flowering plant in the Ericaceae family, native to western Yunnan, northern Myanmar and northern Vietnam. It grows at altitudes of 1900–3400 meters. It is a shrub that grows to 1–4 m in height, with leathery leaves that are elliptic-lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 5–11 by 1.3–3 cm in size. Flowers are predominantly white.

Pandanus microcarpus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

Kingdonia uniflora is a species of perennial herb native to China. The plants have one leaf and a 100-millimetre (4-inch) flower stalk with a 8 mm (3⁄8 in) flower. It grows at high elevations in West and North China. Most of the plants are found in western Yunnan. It is an endangered species. Analysis of its draft genome hinted that its restricted distribution and endangered status relates to the loss of specific gene families.

Boswellia socotrana is a species of plant in the Burseraceae family. It is endemic to Socotra, Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

Boswellia ameero is a species of flowering plant in the Burseraceae family. It is endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen, common locally in arid, partly deciduous forests; however, populations are fragmentary, with aged, seldom regenerating trees being dominant. Also, the habitat of B. ameero may be degrading. Flowers of B. ameero vary; in some populations they are bright pink, in others, pale pink. Boswellia ameero is sometimes used for its resin.

Aloe lomatophylloides (the "Rodrigues aloe", sometimes known locally as "ananas marron") is a unique species of Aloe endemic to the island of Rodrigues, in the Indian Ocean. It is part of a group of aloes which bear fleshy berries, and were therefore classed as a separate group, Aloe section Lomatophyllum.

Rhododendron sinogrande (凸尖杜鹃) is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is commonly called the great Chinese rhododendron, and is native to alpine regions at 2,100–3,600 m (6,900–11,800 ft) in southeastern Xizang and western Yunnan in China and in northeastern Myanmar.

Rhododendron russatum, the purplish-blue rhododendron, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Rhododendron native to south-central China and Myanmar. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.