Bluevine

This giant shrub grows up to 14 feet (4.3 meters) tall and lives for around 26 years. It is very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has many very thick, crooked stems covered in thin, wrinkled, mahogany-coloured bark, and the wood inside is yellow-brown.

The branches are very long, thin and wispy with thousands of twigs that and are covered with small bunches of miniature, stiff, pointed, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are solid hazel with vivid blue edges, delicate and sticky.

In early summer it produces copious amounts of tiny, slate blossoms with triangular shaped petals. They are very delicate and have an intensely strong scent that smells like pine needles.

In midwinter small oval fruits ripen. The soft violet skin is tough and edible when cooked; it is salty and sour, and the slightly crunchy black flesh is slightly bitter and dry. The olive seed is small and is in the centre of the fruit.