Copperbrush

This modest-sized shrub grows up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and lives for around 39 years. It is susceptible to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has dozens of long and flexible, slanted stems covered in thick, smooth, copper-coloured bark, and the wood inside is pale yellow.

The branches are short stubs with dozens of twigs that and are covered with large amounts of miniature, circular, leaves with tattered edges. The leaves themselves are solid green with turquoise lines, flimsy and smooth.

In mid-spring it produces dozens of small, aquamarine blossoms with oval-shaped petals with a trumpet-shaped floral cup. They are sturdy and have a faint scent that smells like varnish.

In midwinter oblong fruits ripen. The clammy crimson skin is peel-able and inedible, and the very soft bronze flesh is sweet and dry. The ashy green seeds are large and are scattered throughout the fruit.