Aspalathus cordata leaf vein translucence

Aspalathus cordata, the heartleaf Cape gorse, is a rigid, sparsely branched shrub that grows erectly to 1 m. The branches are sharply angled and winged. This is one of the Aspalathus species with simple leaves; many of the others being three-foliolate.

The heart-shaped to ovate leaves of A. cordata are stalkless, clasping the stems. The leaves are hard and spine-tipped, their margins entire, notably smooth. The leaves become 1,2 to 2,5 cm long. Leaf colour is blue-green. Straight veins, between 11 and 21 in number, run from the leaf base, converging towards the leaf tip. These veins are pale and translucent against the light as seen in the photo.

The distribution of the species is in the southwestern Cape from Piketberg to Hermanus. The habitat is lower slopes in mountain fynbos (Manning, 2007; Bean and Johns, 2005).