Nightshade

This giant shrub grows up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall and lives for around 36 years. It is very resistant to disease but is susceptible to destructive insect infestation.

It has many slender, curved stems covered in very thick, knobbly, black bark, and the wood inside is burgundy-brown.

The branches are short, rigid and upright with dozens of twigs that and are covered with sparse amounts of tiny, spear shaped, leaves with toothed edges. The leaves themselves are either purple, or beige with blood red edges, flimsy and rough.

In mid-summer it produces many clusters of large, black blossoms with 8 teardrop-shaped shaped petals. They detach easily and have a weak scent that smells like ashes.

In midwinter oval fruits ripen. The waxy beige skin is stretchy and sour and savoury, and the crunchy beige flesh is bitter and sticky. The gold seeds are tiny and are bunched at the top of the fruit.