Aspalathus linearis leaves

The needle-leaves of Aspalathus linearis ascend, angled close to the stems in their small clusters. They are a fresh yellow-green to pale green in picture, variable in length and sometimes spine-tipped.

Sunlight penetrates well into the bush to leaves at lower levels in plants of this structure, allowing many leaves lower down to contribute to the photosynthetic activity.

These leaves in dried, fermented form constitutes the famous rooibos tea consumed for taste and a variety of health reasons (Manning, 2007; http://pza.sanbi.org).