Combretum zeyheri leaves at the end of the season

The large leaves of the raasblaar (noisy leaf) tree may contribute less rustling sound than the fruits. As the fruits dry out, their pale green colour makes way for browns of various shades and a hard, papery texture. On this tree seen in July in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve the fruit colouring is notably dark.

The old leaves, soon to fall, show sturdy, dark midribs against the sunlight, as well as pale, translucent lateral veins. There are about seven to eleven of these lateral veins on each side of the midrib. They angle towards the margins before curving in, running parallel to the margins or zigzagging into the net-veining. The leaf tips are markedly acuminate here, i.e. tapering to acute tips. The leaf texture is rough (Carr, 1988; Coates Palgrave, 2002).