Bronzeberry

This massive shrub grows up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall and lives for around 31 years. It is very resistant to disease but is susceptible to destructive insect infestation.

It has many knobbly, straight stems covered in waxy, dark brown bark, and the wood inside is pale brown.

The branches are tall, rigid and upright that and are covered with very large amounts of miniature, long, tapering, leaves with smooth edges. The leaves themselves are solid orange or white, with red lines, frail and smooth.

In mid-summer it produces thousands of small, purple blossoms with perforated petals with a bell-shaped floral cup. They are sturdy and have a fairly strong scent that smells like pepper.

In late winter very large oval fruits ripen. The smooth turquoise skin is thick and inedible, and the slightly crunchy bronze flesh is sweet and dry. The orange seeds are small and are located in the centre of the fruit.