Tetradium danielii

The bee-bee tree earns its common name. Honey bees work the flowers hard, and they open in late summer when most trees have long finished, giving pollinators a valuable late nectar source.

Large pinnate leaves to 40cm long, made up of around 11 ovate leaflets, turn clear yellow in autumn. Clusters of small, aromatic, creamy-white flowers smother the branches in August into September, followed by clusters of small red-brown seed pods that persist into autumn.

It forms a spreading, umbrella-shaped tree to around 12 to 15m. Plant in full sun in moist, fertile, well-drained soil. Will take a little shade. Generally trouble-free once established.

One for a lawn or wildlife garden where the late flowers are worth growing for the bees alone.