On 2013-10-25 11:13:33 +0000, Sacha said:

On 2013-10-25 11:53:51 +0100, yttiw said:

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a species of tree that
flowers from mid-October?

I doubt that it would be a native species, but my neighbour had one in
his garden for a short period. During late October it suddenly
flowered, and attracted Red Admiral butterflies in quantity on mild,
sunny days. As a butterfly enthusiast this was an unexpected bonus,
that is until one February day the following spring a man with a
chain-saw arrived and cut the entire tree down.

Had I have known this was planned, I could have asked to take a couple
of cuttings and tried to propogate them for my own garden. The
neighbour is not a gardener and therefore has no idea what species of
tree it was, and it was there when he moved in, so he did not plant it.

Sadly, I have no details except that it was about 12-15 ft tall by its
demise, and seemed to grow relatively slowly, plus it had dark-ish waxy
leaves.

A very inadequate description, I'm afraid, but can anyone provide any clues?

Taking a stab in the dark, try Arbutus unedo or Myrtus communis. But
where you live will make a bit of difference to the flowering period
and it would help to know the flower colour. The other possibility is a
Hoheria but that's more a late summer flowering tree than an autumnal
one. And was this one evergreen or deciduous?

Thanks very much Sacha.

I am in Somerset, and so quite mild - relatively speaking. I can't ever
remember the tree being without leaves, so presumably it was evergreen.
I cannot recall the flower colour, as the tree was quite a distance
away. I would not have known that it was flowering except for suddenly
noticing the butterflies, so I guess the flowers must have been
relatively small.

I think therefore it is more likely to have been the Strawberry Tree
rather than the Myrtle, and now I have some names to assist me.

Thanks again.