How The Rainbow Eucalyptus Gets Its Color
The rainbow eucalyptus is an unreal-looking tree. Its trunk looks painted. It has bold lines of orange and purple and blue and green and maroon. It is the most colorful tree in the world. The colors are not those of flowers. The colours are on the bark of the tree. This is how it happens.
The Tree Grows Fast
This is a very tall, straightwardly tree. It grows in warm wet places. It loves rain and sun. It can grow very fast. Rapid growth is the first secret to the color.
The Bark Sheds Unequally {137} at Different Periods
This is the main trick. All through the year the bark of the tree peels smooth. But it doesn’t drop all at once. It sheds in thin strips. These strips seperate at different moments.
New Bark Underneath
New fresh bark is exposed when a strip peels off. This new bark is bright green. That’s chlorophyll giving it the green color. The trunk has chlorophyll like the leaves. This enables the tree to even produce food from its smaller body.
The Bark Ages And Develops Color
Now the magic starts. The new bark bright green patch doesn’t remain green forever. It begins to age. It changes color as it ages. The air and light work on it. The chlorophyll breaks down. Some other chemicals in the bark come through.
First the green fades. And then the patch goes a light blue. Then it turns purple. Then it turns orange. Then it goes a deep maroon red. Then it goes brown just before peeling.
A Living Timeline
You get to see all the colors because they peel at different times. A strip is peeling back to reveal green. The patch next to it is blue. The one on top of that is purple. Another patch is orange. Another is red.
The trunk itself becomes a timeline of life. It is the life of the bark from young green to old brown. The colors run together in long vertical bands. It’s as if a rainbow had been painted on the tree.
Why The Tree Does This
The peeling bark is believed by scientists to be good for the tree. It may prevent moss and vines from sprouting on it. It may assist the tree in shedding pests that inhabit its bark. The rapid defoliation keeps the trunk healthy.
Maybe the bright colors are just a side effect.) A beautiful accident. The tree is not producing the colors to invite animals. The colors derive from the death of green chlorophyll, and appearance of other pigments underneath. The other pigments are known as tannins. They are in many plants. They help guard the tree against bugs and germs.
Where To See This Tree
Where To See This Tree
The rainbow eucalyptus is a unique tree. You cannot see it everywhere. It needs a very warm home. It cannot exist in areas where the ground freezes. It wants damp soil and hot, dry sun. And here are a few places you can see this tree.
In Its Original Home
This tree is native to rainforest areas originally. These are warm, wet places year round.
The Philippines
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
In its native countries the tree is indigenous to the forest. It grows very tall there. It’s part of the jungle course. You can find it in national parks and lowland forests. The colors are very bright The air is always humid.
Places Where People Planted It
People saw this beautiful tree. They brought seeds with them to other warm places in the world. Now you can find it in various botanical gardens and parks.
Hawaii is very good place to view this. The tree does especially well on islands like Maui and Kauai and Oahu. You can find them along the road to Hana on Maui. You can find it in gardens and on parks. The trees in Hawaii are legendary and so vibrant.
Southern Florida is another place. The city of Miami has a few of these trees. They are in parks and, occasionally, on streets. Only the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables Florida hosts these trees. You can walk and visit them.
Southern California has some too. But in only the very warmest regions. San Diego Zoo and other gardens have planted them. They require protection throughout any cold night.
They have been planted in other warm countries. You might catch a glimpse of them in certain places in Brazil or even Costa Rica or Sri Lanka. Anywhere tropical and wet could have one in a garden.
How To Find The Tree
Look in botanical gardens. These are plant museums. They also frequently feature a dedicated section of rainforest trees. Ask an employee if they carry a rainbow eucalyptus.
Search along roadsides in the tropics. Some of these are sown for beauty.
Look near water. The tree loves water. You might encounter it at a pond or by a river in the park.
When to see the colors
The colors are always there. “But they are most beautiful in the rainy season. The bark is new and bright after rain. The sun makes them shine. AM light is SO good.
Look at the trunk. Do not look at the leaves. The magic is all on the bark.
A Very Important Rule
Never peel the bark yourself. The tree matures on its own terms. If you strip it, you can harm the tree. You can mess up the pattern as well. See with your eyes not feel with your hands.
If You Cannot Travel
You will not be able to see this tree outside if you live in a cold place. But you can look at pictures and watch videos. Live webcams are found at many botanical gardens. The tree, you could go see it online.
If you have a warm greenhouse, it can also grow in a pot the size of an itsy bitsy one. It will not get huge. It may be missing vibrant colors on the inside. But you can have your very own little piece of the rainbow.
Why It Is Worth The Search
This work of art is alive. It is a wonder of nature. It’s one thing to see it in person and another just to see a picture of it. The colors are surprising. The size is huge. The pattern is unique.
You feel like you’re in a dream when you stand next to it. It’s a reminder that the world is full of magic. It is a gift of the tropics. A gift of color and green and light.
So if you’re even in a warm wet part of the planet – look up for this tree. Find a botanical garden. Take a walk. Look up. And watch the rainbow grow right out of the ground.
The rainbow eucalyptus grows in the rainforest. Its native territory is what you would find in the Philippines and Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. But folks grow it elsewhere in warmer locales. You can see it in Hawaii and Florida and a lot of southern California. It requires a frost free home.
A Human Comparison
Think of your own skin. You cut yourself a scab forms. The scab comes off with time. New pink skin is underneath. Then that skin darkens and is fused in. The rainbow eucalyptus does this across its trunk all the time. Instead of one color shift, though, it has many.
The Simple Steps Again
One the tree grows fast.
2 the outer bark comes off in strips.
Three new green bark is seen.
Four the green bark ages.
Five: green, blue, purple, orange, red.
Six old brown bark peels off.
Seven each of these stages causes to appear at once.
8 the trunk is all a rainbow.
A Note On The Colors
The colors are brightest shortly after the bark peels. The colors pop in rainy weather. The richest rainbows are on trees of very moist sunny woods. A tree in a desert will have different colors and feel.
The Tree Is Special
While bark is uniformly one color for most trees. Gray or brown or white. History The rainbow eucalyptus is a show off. It’s a reminder that nature can also be an artist. Very pale reverse, bluish.Moderate, reddish; very awkwardBears learn”Plants self-seed. Every tree has a unique pattern to its grain. Each tree is also a special piece of living artwork.
So the rainbow eucalyptus owes its colors to a simple action. It sheds its skin. The color shift is a visible clock. A clock that charts life and the age of bark. It is a beautiful process. It is a present of the hot wet forest. A gift, straight up and tall, flaunting a rainbow for anyone who cared to look.