Fremontodendron is a flowering shrub native to California. In the past it was rarely seen in gardens due to its ungainly habit of throwing out branches in every which direction. But more recently native plants have come into fashion, especially for municipal landscaping. The specimen above (with honey bee) was put in about five years ago as part of the fresh landscaping alongside an elementary school. It is the very same East Bay school, in fact, where my daughter went to kindergarten a few decades ago, but it has been spruced up considerably since then, as seen below.
