Combretum imberbe after hard times

Combretum imberbe leaves grow on short spine-tipped branchlets. The leaf shape is obovate to oblong. The often hair-tipped leaf apex is rounded or broadly tapering; the base tapers and the margin is entire, often wavy. The leaf may be 8 cm long and 3 cm wide, typically only 4 cm by 2 cm. The leaf surface is grey-green, hairless, but with microscopic scales densely covering both surfaces. Lateral veins angle out from the midrib, curving inwards before they reach the margin. There are four to seven pairs of these veins.

The pale grey bark on the upper branches of this tree is visible, as well as some dead branches. The tough period causing parts of the tree to die off may lie many years in the past, as the hard dead wood will persist on a leadwood tree for a very long time. 

The sapwood of C. imberbe is brownish yellow, the heartwood dark brown. The wood is close-grained and difficult to work, not suitable for furniture, but it is said to turn well. 

Hardekool (hard coal) dry wood burns slowly, popular for cooking and camp fires. The wood ash has high lime content. It is sometimes used as a toothpaste substitute or for whitewashing walls (Carr, 1988; Coates Palgrave, 2002).