''Cissus subaphylla'' is a low shrub in the

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

family

Vitaceae The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). The family name is derived from the ge ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

i island of

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

. The plant grows mainly in dry, low-lying areas on

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...

s or on

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

slopes, and is rarely found above elevations of , where it is replaced by ''C. hamaderohensis''. It does not have the climbing habit of other ''

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (Woody plant, woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Uses Medicinal ''Cissus quadrang ...

'' 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

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s and other browsing animals; the plant is thus important in the rehabilitation of species such as ''

Dendrosicyos ''Dendrosicyos'' is a monotypic genus in the plant family (biology), family Cucurbitaceae. The only species is ''Dendrosicyos socotranus'', the cucumber tree. The species is endemism, endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen, and is the only spe ...

'', ''

Maerua ''Maerua'' is a genus of plants in the family Capparaceae, with its centre of diversity in Africa, though some species extend their range as far north as the Levant, and as far east as the Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia. Among i ...

'' and ''

Commiphora The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout th ...

''.EIA Yemen Case Study (PDF)
UNEP, September 2001. Retrieved 2012-01-21.

Distribution

''Cissus subaphylla'' is one of the dominant plant species found on the Socotra's coastal plains and low inland mountains. It grows in particular association with ''

Salvadora persica ''Salvadora persica'' or the toothbrush tree is a small evergreen tree native to India, the Middle East and Africa. Its sticks are traditionally used as a natural toothbrush called ''miswak'' and are mentioned by the World Health Organization f ...

'' and ''Croton socotranus'', but is also found with ''

Jatropha unicostata ''Jatropha unicostata'' is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Socotra island Yemen. Its name in Soqotri is "sibru". Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. References

Endemic fl ...

'', '' Pulicaria stephanocarpa'', ''

Dendrosicyos socotranus ''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 ...

'', and ''

Adenium obesum ''Adenium obesum'' is a poisonous species of flowering plant belonging to the tribe Nerieae of the subfamily Apocynoideae of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It is native to the Sahel regions south of the Sahara (from Mauritania and Senegal to ...

''. subsp. sokotranum. About 270 of the island's 828 known plant species are endemic.

Conservation status

The plant life on Socotra is critically threatened – of 216 known plant species endemic to Socotra and its neighbour

Abd al Kuri Abd al Kuri ( ar, عبد الكوري) is a rocky island in the Guardafui Channel. As a part of the Socotra Archipelago of the Socotra Governorate of Yemen, it lies about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of the island of Socotra.

References

External links

Flower image
at Botany.cz {{Taxonbar, from=Q2974356 subaphylla Plants described in 1882 Endemic flora of Socotra Taxa named by Isaac Bayley Balfour Taxa named by Jules Émile Planchon