Rainbow Eucalyptus (The Most Colorful Tree on Earth), Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

Rainbow Eucalyptus is a species of tall tree, commonly known as the deglupta eucalyptus, Mindanao gum, or rainbow gum and is native to the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is the only Eucalyptus species that usually lives in rainforest, with a natural range that extends into the northern hemisphere, and one of only four eucalypt species out of more than seven hundred that do not occur in Australia. It is characterized by multi-colored bark featuring hues of lavender, blue, green, orange and maroon.

 

Eucalyptus rainbow is a fast-growing tree that typically reaches a height of 60–75 m with the trunk up to 240 cm (94 in) in diameter and with buttresses up to 4 m high. It has smooth, orange-tinted bark that sheds in strips, revealing streaks of pale green, red, orange, gray and purplish brown. The branchlets are roughly square in cross section, often with narrow wings on the corners. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, mostly 75–150 mm long and 50–75 mm  wide on a short petiole. The flower buds are arranged in a branching inflorescence in leaf axils or on the end of branchlets, each branch with groups of seven buds, the individual buds on a pedicel about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. Mature buds are pale green or cream-colored, roughly spherical in shape and 2–5 mm in diameter with a hemispherical operculum with a small point on the top. Flowering time depends on location, and the stamens that give the flowers their color are white to pale yellow. The fruit is a woody, brown, hemispherical capsule about 3–5 mm  long and wide with three or four valves extending beyond the rim of the fruit. Each cell of the fruit contains between three and twelve minute brown seeds, each with a small wing 

 

The rainbow eucalyptus is an unusual tree with a beautiful trunk. The trunk periodically sheds a strip of bark, revealing a green layer underneath. This layer then changes colour. The shedding and colour change happen at different times in different parts of the trunk. In addition, a variety of new colours are produced. The overall effect is lovely and gives the tree its "rainbow" name. We're used to beautiful colours in the flowers and fruits of trees and in their autumn leaves, but a coloured trunk is an oddity. The rainbow eucalyptus is greatly admired and is often planted deliberately, either for its appearance or for its other benefits. The colours and vibrancy of different trunks vary, but the plant is always interesting to see.

All eucalyptus trees and shrubs belong to the genus Eucalyptus, which is in the myrtle family, or the Myrtaceae. The plants are native to Australia, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Most grow in Australia, which contains hundreds of species belonging to the genus. The trees are very popular and grow as introduced or cultivated plants in many parts of the world. The rainbow eucalyptus is native to the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. It's also known as the Mindanao gum tree after the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Gum trees are a group of eucalyptus species with a smooth bark that is periodically shed.

The tree produces white flowers and has moderately wide, evergreen leaves. The leaves contain glands that produce an aromatic oil. They release a pleasant scent when crushed. They make much less oil than the leaves of some other species of eucalyptus, however, and aren't used for the commercial production of the oil. In the Philippines, the tree is harvested for pulp wood to make paper.