Crimson Needlefruit

This modest-sized fruit tree grows up to 17 feet (5.2 meters) tall and lives for up to 45 years, with the oldest known specimen being around 67 years old. It is somewhat resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has a thick, twisting trunk covered in hard, cracked, silver bark, and inside, the very light wood is white.

The small handful of branches trail down to the ground and are covered with large amounts of miniature, very narrow and elongated leaves with ripped edges. The leaves themselves are solid red with drab red lines.

In early spring, it produces thousands of medium-sized, crimson blossoms with finger-like petals with a trumpet-shaped floral cup. They detach easily and have a mildly strong scent that smells like new books.

In early summer it produces small, needle-like fruit. The crispy peach skin is tough and edible when roasted; it is sweet and spicy, and the slightly crunchy cream flesh is spicy and sour and powdery. The blood red seed is tiny and sits at the end of the fruit.

The roots are shallow and widely spread, and overall the tree is rigid and weak, and breaks apart easily.

Forests of this species feature trees spaced far apart, with the space between filled with undergrowth.