Copperleaf

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 115 years old. It is susceptible to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has dozens of stocky, slanted stems covered in delicate, rough, copper-coloured bark, and the wood inside is burgundy.

The branches are short, rigid and upright with hundreds of twigs that and are covered with large amounts of giant, finger-like, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are either aquamarine, or crimson with azure edges, delicate and covered in fine hairs.

In early summer it produces lots of tiny, red blossoms with kidney-shaped shaped petals. They are hardy and have an overpowering scent that smells like cheese.

In mid-autumn tiny oblong fruits ripen. The fuzzy light grey skin is thin and inedible, and the very soft crimson flesh is salty and dry. The beige seeds are tiny and are located in the centre of the fruit.