Violet Needlebush

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 169 years old. It is not very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has many narrow, straight stems covered in very thick, rough, black bark, and the wood inside is white with black speckles.

The branches are tall, rigid and upright that and are covered with thick bunches of tiny, needle-like, leaves with tattered edges. The leaves themselves are light grey at the bottom and violet with dark brown zig-zags at the top, sturdy and smooth.

It produces hundreds of large, light grey flowers with needle-like petals with a bell-shaped floral cup. They fall easily and have a fairly strong scent that smells like rotten meat. In early winter it forms smallbeige, winged seeds that spin and fall nearby.