Silverberry

This small shrub grows up to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and lives for decades, with the oldest known specimen being around 175 years old. It is very resistant to disease and destructive insect infestation.

It has many knobbly, crooked stems covered in delicate, waxy, silver and white bark, and the wood inside is brown.

The branches are long and slender with dozens of twigs that and are covered with small bunches of small, slender, pointed, leaves with rounded edges. The leaves themselves are either blue or cyan, with hazel dots, tough and leathery.

In early spring it produces large amounts of tiny, washed-out orange blossoms with kidney-shaped shaped petals. They detach easily and have a soft scent that smells like musk.

In early winter triangular fruits ripen. The crispy magenta skin is thin and bitter and savoury, and the very soft amber flesh is sweet and very juicy. The white seed is very large and sits at the top of the fruit.