Cussonia natalensis leaf

The simple leaves of Cussonia natalensis, spirally arranged on the branches, grow on long, slender petioles of up to 30 cm.

The leaf shape is palmate, deeply five-lobed; the lobes are lance-shaped, tapering to acutely pointed tips. The lobes become up to 4 cm wide, the central one at the leaf tip being largest, the pair at the base smallest and sometimes disappearing altogether or nearly. The leaves themselves become 7 cm to 12 cm long and 7 cm to 20 cm wide; large, but still small for leaves of their genus.

The leaf texture is leathery and hairless, its colour glossy green to dark green. The cream midribs of the lobes are prominent: five conspicuous lines all starting from the leaf base. Leaf margins are bluntly toothed.

Young leaves start off brownish green, while autumn leaves of this deciduous tree are golden yellow and showy (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Pooley, 1993; Schmidt, et al, 2002).