Copperfern

This big shrub grows up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 117 years old. It is very resistant to destructive insect infestation but susceptible to disease.

It has several wide, crooked stems covered in paper-thin, cracked, copper-coloured bark, and the wood inside is pale brown-grey.

The branches are very long, thin and wispy with hundreds of twigs that and are covered with small bunches of miniature, slender, pointed, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are either blood red, or indigo with vibrant orange streaks, tough and crispy.

In early summer it produces many small, pink blossoms with teardrop-shaped shaped petals. They fall easily and have a delicate scent that smells like rotting meat.

In early winter small cuboid fruits ripen. The rubbery hazel skin is thin and spicy, and the crunchy indigo flesh is sour and oily. The slate seed is large and is in the centre of the fruit.