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Caramel

Shrub type: Deciduous (Stores water in its stem)

This big shrub grows up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall and lives for around 99 years. It is very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has several stocky, angular stems covered in ridged, white with black speckled bark, and the wood inside is pine-coloured.

The branches are short, rigid and upright with dozens of twigs that and are covered with copious amounts of small, sickle shaped, leaves with toothed edges. The leaves themselves are either amber, or caramel with lilac lines, flimsy and crispy.

In late summer it produces hundreds of large, slate blossoms with teardrop-shaped shaped petals. They are hardy and have a scent that varies in strength that smells like garlic.

In late winter large spherical fruits ripen. The rough blood red skin is tough and edible when cooked; it is bitter and salty, and the very soft caramel flesh is spicy and savoury and dry. The hazel seeds are tiny and are dotted around on the skin of the fruit.

The colour changes depends on whether the soil is acidic or alkaline.
It is suitable for use as a construction material