A great name for a beautiful tree - the rainbow eucalypt
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325808)
Rockingham, Australia
December 27, 2018 3:39am CST
I took photos of a lovely flowering gum/eucalyptus while I was visiting my sister just before Christmas. The guy who had pruned the trees said it was a ‘rainbow gum’ but I don’t think that is correct.
I googled rainbow gum and was blown away by the colouring of the trunk. The trees I photographed had a different type of bud and the trunk wasn’t anywhere near as coloured. Because it is so stunning I thought you might like to know about it.
The rainbow gum (Eucalyptus deglupta) is tall and native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. The multi-coloured bark has a mix of blue, purple, orange and maroon. It is the only eucalypt species to extend naturally into the northern hemisphere. In its natural habitat it may grow to 2 metres wide (6 ft) and 80 metres (250 ft) tall.
It is also called the Mindanao gum after the Philippine island of the same name. Patches of outer bark are shed at different times revealing a bright green inner bark. This matures to become vertical streaks of intense tones of various colours. I’m wondering if any of our Philippine friends have seen their tree on their islands.
30 people like this
32 responses
@xFiacre (12597)
• Ireland
27 Dec 18
@judyev I recall gum trees in Malawi that had multi-coloured bark but not as vibrant as those. They were imports of course but did quite well, though I can’t imagine what clown would have taken the troubles in the early 1900s to bring them from wherever to a very remote and inaccessible corner of Africa.
4 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45472)
• India
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv Trees are best grown in regions and climates suitable for them.
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@moffittjc (118442)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Dec 18
I'm surprised I haven't seen these trees here in Florida. We seem to have a perfect climate for growing trees from all over the world, especially ones that thrive in a tropical or subtropical climate.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118442)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv They would do well in south Florida, where they rarely get any frost. I guess they wouldn't do so well where I live in north Florida, where we have a dozen or so days of frost each year.
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@JudyEv (325808)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Dec 18
@moffittjc Maybe if you could get them established they'd then survive occasional frosts.
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@ptrikha_2 (45472)
• India
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv yes may be such trees are not so many in the cities, but are there in the countryside.
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@Mavic123456 (21898)
• Thailand
27 Dec 18
so beautiful in one of the places here and in the forest i saw this kind of eucalyptus.
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@Mavic123456 (21898)
• Thailand
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv yes, i saw this in a cold place. i really never thought it's special though the "eucalyptus" was something for me because I collected leaves and smelled them. put in my room. I rested from writing sites that time because I was so busy with work. so I did not think of taking photos of it. Tsk!!!
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@JudyEv (325808)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Dec 18
@Mavic123456 What a shame you didn't think to take photos. Maybe you'll go back there one day.
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@responsiveme (22926)
• India
27 Dec 18
It looks like someone took a paint brush to it. What a lovely photo
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@jvicentevalera (13671)
• Santiago, Chile
28 Dec 18
What a beautiful tree, the whole picture itself looks amazing! Nice shot. I think in Venezuela we have these kinds of trees too. If it can grew up in tropical countries, I think we have some of those too!
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@jvicentevalera (13671)
• Santiago, Chile
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv Yeah, that's why I guessed so, because once I heard a neighbor saying that he was looking to get some leaves from such tree for medical purposes, which I don't remember what specifically. But you might be right Judy! Take care, great picture.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
29 Dec 18
@JudyEv We do have a killing frost some years that kills some plants. I would think it would be harder for it to kill a big tree. I do have a gum tree at the Templeton house, and we have them throughout the county. They just aren't this variety.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (95188)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Dec 18
They are pretty. I had come across info on them last summer while looking for different types of trees. They wont grow here.
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@wolfgirl569 (95188)
• Marion, Ohio
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv Maybe in a few years if global warming keeps up I can have one 
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@JudyEv (325808)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Dec 18
@wolfgirl569 That's true. There might be all sorts of plants that you will be able to grow in a few years.
@JudyEv (325808)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Dec 18
It would be too cold there. I thought I'd heard of most gums but I've never come across this one before.
@RasmaSandra (73444)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Dec 18
How interesting and what a lovely tree. Thanks for sharing.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325808)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Dec 18
@RasmaSandra Thanks for sharing that. Isn't it just beautiful? Really stunning.
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@oahuwriter (26780)
• United States
28 Dec 18
@JudyEv
It grows very big and tall.
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