When living in South Africa, I was fascinated by fever trees. Some trees have very light barks that seem to glow with the right light but once you see a real fever tree you know that’s the real thing. In the bark of the fever tree photosynthesis takes place and that is why it is properly luminous.
There are of course no fever trees in Europe but these lit trees which were part of a light installation reminded me.
In South Africa there a certain kind of tree, the vachellia xanthophloea (xanthophloea refers to the yellow bark). Now I know that the common name, fever tree, stems from the fact that they were first found in malaria infected areas but you can always see a fever tree from afar – the bark stands out and the stem and the branches look as if they were glowing from the inside.
I’ve never seen a specimen in Germany but in the right light a poplar can look luminous, too.
pictures imperfect blog 