Repository of Randomness: Rainbow Eucalyptus

Also known as Eucalyptus Deglupta or Mindanao Gum, this is an actual colorful tree. It's kind of amazing, which is why I wanted to tell you about it right now. Some scientists think that there are actually two different species of 'Rainbow' Eucalyptus, but maybe not.

The tree is called a rainbow because it sheds it's bark constantly, in long strips, and the exposed wood underneath starts out green, then turns purple or blue, and fades to red/orange/yellow, which is why it's a rainbow. Shockingly, the main use for this colorful tree is making white paper. Shedding bark isn't unusual for trees because it's one of the ways that trees use to continue to grow, since they grow from the inside-out, as shown by the rings. To keep growing, some have 'tears' in their bark, which you've probably seen if you've been around a tree much. Those 'tears' then heal up into new bark around the larger tree, while other shed their bark a bit at a time to create new bark to replace it. In this case, strips fall off when the tree is growing, and gets entirely replaced over the course of a year.

Another claim to fame for this tree, aside from it's color, is that it's one of the very few eucalyptus species that is not native to Australia. (This makes me like it a bit more, because I'm a bit wary of anything from Australia, for good reason. I wrote up a post about it, in case you're confused.) This tree is actually found in, among other places, Hawaii. It's also common in the Philippines and several places that have rainforests and warm climates all year long.

To the Natives of the areas this tree is found in, it's actually a medicine tree because it's leaves are antiseptic, and it can be used in teas to help with coughs. What makes me really happy though, is that mosquitos don't like it. If I didn't know it wouldn't like living here, I would have already ordered seeds for that reason alone. Unfortunately, I'm too far North.