Copperleaf

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 111 years old. It is very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has numerous stocky, wavy stems covered in delicate, ridged, white with black speckled bark, and the wood inside is white.

The branches are long and slender with dozens of twigs that and are covered with large amounts of large, stiff, pointed, leaves with irregular edges. The leaves themselves are found in dark purple, copper and blood red varieties, light and smooth.

In late spring it produces thousands of large, hazel blossoms with sickle shaped petals with a bell-shaped floral cup. They fall easily and have a delicate scent that smells like petrol.

In midwinter tiny fan-like fruits ripen. The leathery hazel skin is delicate and edible when boiled; it is sweet and spicy, and the very soft slate flesh is salty and syrupy. The white seeds are tiny and are located in the centre of the fruit.