Lotononis pungens young leaves

These young Lotononis pungens leaves are bright green, almost translucent in the sunlight. The narrow, channelled blades are sparsely covered in long, silvery hairs. The hairs vary in length and distribution, but favour the margins.

Even at this early stage the pointed leaflet tips are brown. The angles between each trio of leaflets seem to increase as they mature and ascend less.

Some plants have wider leaflets and may lose some hairiness with age (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist).