Silversilk Vine

This colossal shrub grows up to 10 feet (3.0 meters) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 138 years old. It is not very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has dozens of sturdy, straight stems covered in very thick, silky, white with black speckled bark, and the wood inside is silver.

The branches are long and thin with thousands of twigs that and are covered with small bunches of miniature, pleated, leaves with tattered edges. The leaves themselves are cream with pastel purple tips, frail and smooth.

In mid-summer it produces large amounts of small, aquamarine blossoms with slender, pointed petals with a trumpet-shaped floral cup. They are very delicate and have a delicate scent that smells like new books.

In late winter very large long, straight fruits ripen. The sticky crimson skin is thick and inedible, and the very soft amber flesh is savoury and very dry. The drab yellow seeds are tiny and are scattered throughout the fruit.