Rainbow eucalyptus is a plant that will not leave indifferent any person who has ever seen him at least once in his life. The tree impresses not only with its size, but also with the unusual coloring of the trunk, thanks to which the plant got such a memorable name. People who first saw eucalyptus involuntarily call it a miracle tree.
Description
The trunk of the plant reaches a height of up to 75 meters. Its diameter can be more than 230 centimeters. The bark of a young tree has a bright green color. As age increases, rainbow eucalyptus changes the color of integumentary tissues. They can acquire shades of burgundy and red, blue and violet, yellow and green. The older the tree, the richer the color.
Another feature of eucalyptus is that sections of the cortex exfoliate in narrow long stripes. They twist or just hang down. A similar process of renewal of the bark can be observed in conifers of trees of the middle band. But due to the lack of bright colors of scales and rather modest sizes, it is unremarkable. The presence of a rainbow-colored eucalyptus bark gives the plant a fantastic look. Eucalyptus leaves are renewed throughout the year, so they always look fresh and attractive.
Due to these features, the plant is used as a decorative species in the tropical and
subtropical zones of the Earth. Rainbow eucalyptus trees do not produce essential oils, so when growing them you can not worry about the fact that the plant can cause allergic reactions in people suffering from one or another ailment.
Spread
There are not many places on Earth where the rainbow eucalyptus tree grows. First of all, it is the tropical forests of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippine archipelago. It is here that the plant is able to grow in vivo.
In the state of South Florida in the USA, the plant was artificially introduced in 1929, where it successfully took root. This led to the idea of trying to grow rainbow eucalyptus in other regions of the planet. Today, the plant can be found in Africa, Brazil, China, Cuba.
The only type of eucalyptus that has spread in the northern hemisphere, but this does not mean at all that the plant is undemanding to the conditions for its growth and development. If in the wild a tree grows to a height of about 70 meters, then in areas of its artificial cultivation it can reach a little more than 30 meters.
Growing conditions
An abundance of moisture and a hot climate are the most necessary conditions under which the rainbow eucalyptus feels most comfortable. It is high temperatures and sufficient humidity that allow the tree to reach such an impressive size.
A favorable fact for the cultivation of tree plantations is that the plant is little susceptible to diseases and pests. The only serious enemy of the tree can be called termites. To protect against them, you have to use special chemical means of processing plantings.
Wood use
The extraordinary decorativeness of the tree is the main reason that made people cultivate it on plantations located around the world. It turns out that eucalyptus wood is an excellent raw material for the production of high-quality paper, furniture, and the construction of small ships.
The alarm is that for these purposes, not only artificial plantations of eucalyptus are cut down annually, but also its natural thickets. Today, the situation associated with the cutting down of rainbow eucalyptus stands has been taken under the control of environmentalists. Growing new eucalyptus forests is also planned.