About Karrabina benthamiana (F.Muell.) Rozefelds & H.C.Hopkins
This species is commonly known as the Red Carabeen. It is a large tree that grows to around 35 metres tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 140 cm. The trunk is round in cross section and often buttressed at the base, and its bark is wrinkly and brown. Its leaves are pinnate, opposite, and formed of three leaflets. The leaflets are distinctly toothed, 5 to 15 cm long, smooth and green on both surfaces, and darker on the upper surface. New growth on the tree is bright red. The midrib and lateral leaf veins are visible on both leaf surfaces, and are conspicuously raised on the underside. Twelve to sixteen net veins end in each leaf tooth. Yellow flowers form in slender racemes, and appear between October and January. The fruit is a downy, almost cylindrical capsule that has two cells, with several flat seeds in each cell. Fruit ripens between May and August, or can ripen at irregular intervals. Unlike many Australian rainforest tree species, Karrabina benthamiana seed germination occurs rapidly. This tree is common in warm temperate and subtropical rainforest areas, and is often found in mountain gullies. Its natural distribution extends from near the Manning River area in New South Wales to near Tamborine Mountain in south eastern Queensland.
