Copperleaf

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 96 years. It is very resistant to destructive insect infestation but susceptible to disease.

It has numerous knobbly, straight stems covered in very thick, ridged, black bark, and the wood inside is yellow-brown.

The branches trail down across the ground with thousands of twigs that and are covered with thick bunches of huge, thick, leaves with toothed edges. The leaves themselves are orange-yellow with copper tips, robust and smooth.

In late spring it produces thousands of small, magenta blossoms with broad, flat petals. They fall easily and have a scent whose strength depends on external factors, such as soil quality and rain frequency that smells like damp.

In late autumn oval fruits ripen. The fuzzy copper skin is delicate and edible when cooked; it is bitter and salty, and the soft slate flesh is sweet and sticky. The caramel seeds are tiny and are dotted around on the skin of the fruit.