Copperleaf

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 14 years. It is not very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has dozens of flexible, straight stems covered in hard, cracked, brown-green speckled bark, and the wood inside is yellow.

The branches are long and thick that and are covered with copious amounts of small, very thick, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are indigo at the bottom and copper with orange lines at the top, flimsy and clammy.

In mid-summer it produces bunches of giant, brown blossoms with circular petals. They fall easily and have a strong scent that smells like rotten egg.

In midwinter needle-like fruits ripen. The soft caramel skin is thick and edible when cooked; it is salty, and the soft drab red flesh is savoury and juicy. The crimson seeds are small and are bunched at the bottom of the fruit.