Copper Fruit Tree

This modest-sized fruit tree grows up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall and lives for up to 25 years, with the oldest known specimen being around 42 years old. It is not very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has a thick, twisting trunk covered in delicate, cracked, brown-green bark, and inside, the very light wood is silver.

The branches trail down to the ground and are covered with small bunches of huge, asymmetrical leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are either vivid green or copper, with hazel streaks.

In early spring, it produces lots of large, bronze blossoms with pleated petals with a bell-shaped floral cup. They fall easily and have a soft scent that smells like warm cookies.

In early summer it produces small, slender, 9 pointed fruit. The clammy magenta skin is stretchy and inedible, and the slightly crunchy blood red flesh is salty and syrupy. The brown seeds are tiny and are bunched at the top of the fruit.

The roots are shallow and widely spread, and overall the tree is sturdy, flexible, and difficult to uproot or break.

Forests of this species feature the trees packed together, with the space between them filled with thick undergrowth.