Monsonia spinosa spine beginnings

Those tiny Monsonia spinosa leaf blades can surely not be too heavy for their overly robust petioles!

In fact, the leaves are soon to be dumped by the spines that initially masqueraded as the stalks serving them. Still, the spines normally straight in this species appear to bend pretentiously under their loads at this stage.

The long-stalked leaves of this plant are similar in blade to the short-stalked ones grown in greater numbers upon the stems. The rounded, blue-green (here also yellow-green) blades have entire margins, folding in from the sides and having either an apical notch or point (Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist).