species: Eucalyptus deglupta
common name: rainbow eucalyptus
family: Myrtaceae
where & when encountered: Costa Rica - 2015
I had seen many eucalyptus trees in my life, but did not know this one even existed until I came face-to-face with it on a coffee plantation in Costa Rica. This is one of the rare species not native to Australia, but rather Southeast Asia - Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is the only one whose range extends north of the equator. It's a very unusual tree on multiple levels, the most obvious being the unbelievably bright colors of the bark, which sometimes look like paint.
It's a beauty!
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