“Art is a man’s nature; nature is God’s art.”-Philip James Bailey

Whenever we are in nature, we experience the same feelings as when we are overwhelmed by a remarkable piece of art.

Nature calms us, surprises, amazes, inspires, leaves us speechless.. and has proven itself to be greater than the most skillful artists of all time. A majestic tree, native to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, is another proof of it.

Eucalyptus deglupta, or the Rainbow Eucalyptus, reveals its astonishing beauty once its bark is shed.

The inner bark of the tree is bright green, but as it matures, its color changes to blue, purple, orange, and eventually maroon.

According to Australian Geographic, “you could easily compare the colors to what you’d see in your average four-pack of assorted highlighters.”

The rainbow effect it is known for is a result of the fact that the eucalyptus sheds its bark in sections throughout the year.

Brett Summerell, a chief botanist at Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, explains:

“This process isn’t unusual– the forest red gum, spotted gum and others do it too – it’s just that the color changes are way outside the norm seen for eucalyptus.”

The unique tree, also known as ‘Mindanao gum’, or ‘rainbow gum’, is the only Eucalyptus species that grows naturally in the Northern Hemisphere, and one of the four Eucalyptus species out of over 700 that lives outside Australia.

Also, it grows very fast, up to three feet per year, while the diameter of the trunk can reach up to a six-feet.

Fascinating!

Sources:
www.australiangeographic.com.au
www.designboom.com
returntonow.net