Hi Nariz,

This is a species of Bauhinia - would need to see the flowers to determine which one.

Have a look at this site. Female flowers are cream coloured Male flowers are pink ---- http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/persimmon.html

Scotsgran - this definitely isn't a species of Diospyros, we have them in the garden here...The folded, bi-furcated and heavily veined leaves (you can just see the distinctive notch at the base of the leaf at the top of the lower photograph) are fairly unique to Bauhinia.

compare with:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr_061109-1480_Bauhinia_x_blakeana.jpg

and

http://www.krisdeyoung.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=30

The pics also show the slightly "zig-zag" stem and very regular, alternate leaf arrangement. Compare with:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pexHNs4HmGoG5ioM7Boc5w

Oooo - scientific answers! Thanks guys! I've never heard of Bauhinia - it sounds very tropical. Anyone know of its origin if it's not a native to southern Spain?

Hi Nariz, there are over 200 species of Bauhinia, different species are native to Asia, Southern and Central America and Africa too - pretty widespread in other words!

Hi Ilex thank you for the lesson in looking. I did not spot what Nariz meant when he said the leaves were folded.Neither did I spot the notch. He has posted a flower photo but it does not look anything like those in the first link you mention. I could not get in to either of the others for some reason. Looking down the right hand side of his first photo it looks like there could be orange fruit. Or am I not seeing it properly.

Hi Scotsgran - just a couple of corrections here - I'm a 'she' not a 'he', not obvious from my avatar name I know. I've often 'mis-gendered' other members on GoY, assuming they are blokes rather than laydeees. The 'orange fruit' you think you see in the photo are dead leaves - there was certainly no fruit of any kind on the tree.

Thanks for the geography, Ilex. That explains why the tree is so un-familiar.

Sorry about the mix up as you say avatar is no clue but that is no excuse because I had read your profile. I am learning as I go with gardening and I love the Questions page because it gives us something to get our teeth in to. As I said to Ilex it can be difficult to see exactly what you are looking at and I think I have become more conscious the more I learn the more I realise I am a very late starter in the observation game but there are probably many like me. It is good that people like Ilex are prepared to participate in the site and share their knowledge with us. Now you have put a photo of the flower on it will be interesting to find out which Bauhinia it is. On one of the sites where I went searching for the bauhinia flower it said the leaves were like cloven hooves. It is easy to see that when you know what you are looking at. I did not find any with flowers like yours but then I did not come across 200 of them. I love the site for the experiences I get through others.

Ditto, Scotsgran! :o)