Turquoise Shieldfern

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 21 years. It is somewhat resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has many stocky, wavy stems covered in wrinkled, yellow bark, and the wood inside is black.

The branches are short stubs with dozens of twigs that and are covered with sparse amounts of huge, spear shaped, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are solid slate with olive lines, light and leathery.

In mid-summer it produces handfuls of large, turquoise flowers with shield-shaped shaped petals. They detach easily and have a powerful scent that smells like candle wax.