Magenta

This average-sized shrub grows up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 167 years old. It is susceptible to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has numerous stocky, angular stems covered in delicate, wrinkled, black with white speckled bark, and the wood inside is pine-coloured.

The branches are very short and slender with hundreds of twigs that and are covered with small amounts of huge, wispy, leaves with rounded edges. The leaves themselves are lime green with magenta tips, light and waxy.

In early summer it produces several tiny, bronze blossoms with 3 cylindrical shaped petals. They are hardy and have an intensely strong scent that smells like new books.

In early autumn broad, flat fruits ripen. The rough blue skin is tough and sour and savoury, and the slightly crunchy red flesh is bitter and juicy. The red seed is tiny and sits at the top of the fruit.