Clutchvine

This average-sized shrub grows up to 3 feet (91.4 cm) tall and lives for around 27 years. It is susceptible to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has several thick, crooked stems covered in thin, knobbly, brown and grey bark, and the wood inside is pale brown.

The branches are very short and thick with hundreds of twigs that and are covered with copious amounts of tiny, sickle shaped, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are bronze at the bottom and olive with crimson edges at the top, resilient and covered in fine hairs.

In mid-spring it produces large amounts of tiny, crimson blossoms with needle-like petals. They are hardy and have a soft scent that smells like rotten meat.

In early autumn large circular fruits ripen. The waxy blood red skin is thin and savoury, and the slightly crunchy indigo flesh is sour and sticky. The dark grey seeds are tiny and are bunched at the bottom of the fruit.