Speckled Goldfern

This short shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for around 40 years. It is very resistant to destructive insect infestation but susceptible to disease.

It has many flexible, crooked stems covered in smooth, black with white speckled bark, and the wood inside is pale brown-grey.

The branches are tall, rigid and upright with hundreds of twigs that and are covered with thick bunches of miniature, perforated, leaves with serrated edges. The leaves themselves are found in gold, copper and florescent green varieties, soft and flexible and covered in fine hairs.

In early summer it produces several medium-sized, bronze flowers with stiff, pointed petals with a tube-like floral cup. They are hardy and have an intensely strong scent that smells like pine needles.