Copperbrush

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 18 years. It is susceptible to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has numerous thick, curved stems covered in thin, cracked, mahogany-coloured bark, and the wood inside is silver.

The branches are long and thick with thousands of twigs that and are covered with handfuls of huge, pleated, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are copper on the sides and orange at the center, sturdy and flexible and soft.

In mid-summer it produces dozens of small, aquamarine blossoms with oval-shaped shaped petals. They are hardy and have a delicate scent that smells like meat.

In late autumn tiny asymmetrical fruits ripen. The sticky caramel skin is tough and inedible, and the slightly crunchy copper flesh is bitter and very dry. The red seeds are tiny and are dotted around on the skin of the fruit.