Searsia magalismontana subsp. magalismontana leaves

The alternate leaves of Searsia magalismontana subsp. magalismontana are trifoliolate, borne erectly on long petioles that are winged when young.

The sessile leaflets are narrowly obovate to elliptic, their tips tapering or rounded, their bases also tapering. Leaflet colour is grey-green on mature leaves, pinkish or apricot-coloured with a covering of lenticels when young. Leaf texture is leathery and rigid when mature. Closely spaced, parallel and straight lateral veins ascend from the pale midrib to the margins that are entire.

Tiny, creamy yellow flowers grow in dense sprays from leaf axils in late spring. Slightly flattened fruits ripen from yellow to red by early December (The Tree Society of Southern Africa, 1974; www.plantzafrica,com).