Silvervine

This enormous shrub grows up to 13 feet (4.0 meters) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 160 years old. It is very resistant to disease but is susceptible to destructive insect infestation.

It has several knobbly, straight stems covered in knobbly, silver and white bark, and the wood inside is white with black speckles.

The branches are very long and slender with thousands of twigs that and are covered with large amounts of small, needle-like, leaves with serrated edges. The leaves themselves are black at the bottom and aquamarine with green patches at the top, tough and waxy.

In early spring it produces handfuls of medium-sized, lilac blossoms with teardrop-shaped shaped petals. They are very delicate and have a delicate scent that smells like musk.

In early autumn cuboid fruits ripen. The crispy dark grey skin is stretchy and inedible, and the very soft copper flesh is spicy and oily. The green seed is large and sits at the top of the fruit.