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BackgroundIn this study, we present and analyze toponyms referring to Socotra Island's endemic dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) in four areas on the Socotra Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage site (Republic of Yemen). The motivation is the understanding of the past distribution ofD. cinnabaritrees which is an important part of conservation efforts by using ethnobotanical data. We assumed that dragon's blood trees had a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past.MethodsThis research was based on field surveys and interviews with the indigenous people. The place names (toponyms) were recorded in both Arabic and the indigenous Socotri language. We grouped all toponyms into five different categories according to the main descriptor: terrain, human, plant, water, and NA (unknown). Also, this study identified current and historical Arabic names of dragon's blood trees of the genusDracaenathrough literature review.ResultsA total of 301 toponyms were recorded from the four study areas in Socotra Island. Among names related to plants, we could attribute toponyms to nine different plants species, of which six toponyms referred to theD. cinnabaritree, representing 14.63% of the total phytotoponyms in the category. Three historical naming periods prior to 2000 could be identified. The most commonly used name for dragon's blood trees (D. cinnabari,D. serrulata,D. ombet) appears to be 'ahrieb' 'إعريهب' and its resin 'dum al-akhawin' 'دم الأخوين,' while derived (mixed-cooked) products are called 'eda'a' 'إيدع,' while regionally different names can be found.ConclusionThe place names that refer toD. cinnabariare herein suggested to represent remnant areas of once large populations. Therefore, the toponyms may support known hypotheses based on climate models thatD. cinnabarihad a wider distribution on Socotra Island in the past. This study also confirmed the historical importance of dragon's blood.

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