There are about six hundred species and varieties of eucalyptus trees, all but six of which are native only to Australia and only one is not found there. These trees, which may reach three hundred feet in height, grow as large forests only in a small area of Australia.

The trees have a number of ways to survive natural disasters such as fire, drought, and frost, but are not as long-lived as some of the oaks and conifers of the Northern Hemisphere. They seem to be more susceptible to fungus and termites than the very long-lived trees. Their long branches make them subject to severe wind damage, which exposes the inner wood to the attacks of fungus and boring insects that sometimes kill the tree. Eucalyptus trees live an average of two to four hundred years, with old ones reported to reach one thousand years of age.

Some species of eucalyptus, however, have a remarkable defense against insect and fungus invasions. As soon as an injury occurs to the tree, the injured area is flooded with a sticky red liquid called "kino." As the kino comes in contact with air, it hardens to a bright-red mass that seals the wound off from the elements and attacking enemies.

The liquid sometimes pours forth with such force that attacking insects are literally washed away and may even become trapped in the substance as it hardens.

In the Northern Hemisphere we see much the same thing in cone-bearing trees when a wound causes the tree to seal the area with a sticky white resin.

One day a Man - Jesus by name - was hanging on a tree when a Roman soldier thrust a spear into His side. The power of the blood that was thus shed is inconceivable. It repels all the forces of sin that would invade the heart of even the weakest of God's children. And it seals the life of those who accept Jesus, making it possible for them to grow up spiritually strong in Him.