Karrabina benthamiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Karrabina benthamiana |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Red carabeen - buttressed roots, Wilson River, Australia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Karrabina
|
| Species: |
benthamiana
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
The Red Carabeen (scientific name: Karrabina benthamiana) is a type of tall rainforest tree. You can find it growing naturally in the forests of north-eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland, along the mid-eastern coast of Australia. People also call this tree by other names like leather jacket, brush mahogany, red bean, pink marara, and brush mararie. This tree used to be known by a different scientific name, Geissois benthamiana.
Contents
Where the Red Carabeen Lives
These trees love to grow in warm, wet rainforest areas. You will often see them in mountain valleys and gullies. Their natural home stretches from the Manning River area in New South Wales up to Tamborine Mountain in south-eastern Queensland. They thrive in places that are either warm temperate or subtropical.
What the Red Carabeen Looks Like
The Red Carabeen is a very big tree. It can grow up to about 35 metres (that's like a 10-story building!) and its trunk can be as wide as 140 centimetres across. The trunk is usually round and often has large, wide roots at its base called buttresses. These buttress roots help to support the tall tree. The bark of the tree is brown and looks a bit wrinkly.
Leaves and New Growth
The leaves of the Red Carabeen grow in pairs, one on each side of the stem. Each leaf is made up of three smaller leaflets. These leaflets have jagged edges, like tiny teeth. They are usually between 5 and 15 centimetres long. Both sides of the leaflets are smooth and green, but the top side is a darker green. When new leaves start to grow, they are a bright, eye-catching red color!
If you look closely at the leaves, you can easily see the main vein (called the midrib) and the smaller veins branching off it. These veins stick out, especially on the underside of the leaf. There are usually 12 to 16 small veins that end at one of the leaf's "teeth."
Flowers and Fruit
The Red Carabeen produces yellow flowers. They usually appear between October and January. These flowers grow in long, thin clusters called racemes.
After the flowers, the tree grows a fuzzy, almost tube-shaped fruit. This fruit is called a capsule. Inside the capsule, there are two sections, and each section holds several flat seeds. The fruit usually ripens between May and August, but sometimes it can ripen at other times too. What's cool about these trees is that their seeds sprout very quickly, unlike many other rainforest trees in Australia.
