These Beautiful Trees Transform Into “Rainbows” As They Lose Bark

Nature is sadly often underrated; we pass by trees and flowers and weeds surviving inside of literal subway tracks—and rarely do we notice. But sometimes, when nature just flat-out smacks across our face with her beauty, we can’t help but take a step back in awe.

That’s just what happens to people when they come across a “rainbow tree,” which is also known as a Eucalyptus deglupta.

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A post shared by Art Insider (@insiderart) on Feb 12, 2020 at 10:23am PST

The oh-so-Instagramble tree is native to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, thriving inside a rainforest climate. Its bark does something incredibly special: It changes color—and not just one color, all sorts of colors—per its moniker.

At first glance, you might think these trees were covered in paint as part of some art installation but in fact, they’re completely colorful all on their own. And no two trees are the same in design!

The tree’s bark actually sheds, revealing a color-changing layer beneath. These layers shed at random, and the colors are totally unpredictable.

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A post shared by Nookie (@nookie_cakes) on May 24, 2018 at 9:42pm PDT

People all over Instagram are sharing the beauties:

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A post shared by Penny Briscoe (@pbriscoe619) on Feb 9, 2020 at 2:47am PST

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A post shared by Family of 4 🇨🇦 (@explore_for_four) on Feb 9, 2020 at 5:58pm PST

And people especially love to hug them:

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A post shared by George Lee (@doctorgeorgelee) on Feb 3, 2020 at 8:08am PST

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A post shared by Ivy Raff (@ivy_raff) on Feb 8, 2020 at 1:42pm PST

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A post shared by Wojciech Wardecki (@wojciech_wardecki) on Jan 30, 2020 at 3:53am PST

You never, ever expect to see a neon pink tree, do you?

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A post shared by Michael Spitzer (@spitzer78) on Jan 30, 2020 at 3:47am PST

Or one covered in what looks like bright green paint:

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A post shared by Ethnoplants (@ethnoplants) on Jan 29, 2020 at 4:58am PST

And yet these trees are out here blowing minds the world over:

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A post shared by Jacqueline Julia (@beatnikjax) on Sep 28, 2018 at 3:09pm PDT

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A post shared by Marci ♋️ (@marci731) on Aug 26, 2018 at 4:19am PDT

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A post shared by Anna Maertin (@amaertin) on Apr 28, 2018 at 8:30am PDT

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A post shared by LINTON RIDDICK JR (@lj_riddick) on Jan 23, 2020 at 9:19am PST

It’s hard to believe they’re real, or that they’re not part of someone’s acid-filled imagination:

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A post shared by Vishi Ariazand (@persianleprechaun) on Feb 7, 2020 at 8:14am PST

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A post shared by Making Memories Inc (@makingmemoriesinc) on Jan 22, 2020 at 2:31am PST

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A post shared by Cevriye Üzer🐞 (@cevriyeuzer) on Jan 15, 2020 at 8:30am PST

If you’re in the U.S., you can find them in Florida, Texas, and California, where the weather is hot and humid!