Copperbell

This modest-sized shrub grows up to 3 feet (91.4 cm) tall and lives for around 40 years. It is susceptible to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has several branched, wonky stems covered in rough, pine-coloured bark, and the wood inside is black with white speckles.

The branches are short stubs with hundreds of twigs that and are covered with very large amounts of giant, stiff, pointed, leaves with rounded edges. The leaves themselves are green with lime tips, delicate and soft.

In late summer it produces hundreds of tiny, copper blossoms with perforated petals with a bell-shaped floral cup. They fall easily and have a delicate scent that smells like rainy days.

In late winter tiny oblong fruits ripen. The clammy olive skin is delicate and sweet, and the soft olive flesh is savoury and juicy. The black seeds are small and are bunched at the bottom of the fruit.