Aquamarine

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 33 years. It is very resistant to destructive insect infestation but susceptible to disease.

It has numerous flexible, straight stems covered in smooth, mahogany-coloured bark, and the wood inside is silver.

The branches trail down to the ground with dozens of twigs that and are covered with large amounts of tiny, pleated, leaves with toothed edges. The leaves themselves are generally aquamarine, tough and sticky.

In mid-summer it produces copious amounts of tiny, muted yellow blossoms with long, tapering petals with a trumpet-shaped floral cup. They are hardy and have a weak scent that smells like fresh linen.

In late winter small 8 pointed fruits ripen. The crispy slate skin is delicate and sweet and bitter, and the slightly crunchy pink flesh is sweet and powdery. The muted green seeds are large and are scattered throughout the fruit.