Brabejum stellatifolium stem-tip brownish leaves

Seven leaves this time at the Brabejum stellatifolium stem-tip! Their ascending petioles are dark brown with a hint of whitish hairs. Petiole length of stem-tip leaves appears fairly consistent. The distance to the second ring of leaves on the stem is usually long in B. stellatifolium, posing no risk of leaves becoming entangled or stealing each other’s light.

The leaves are pale brownish green and narrow in this early developmental stage. The marginal toothing is restricted to the upper leaf parts, unevenly developed on different members of the ring, showing some narrow elongations. 

It is remarkable how much variation inside one species can sometimes be observed when attending to detail, amidst the consistently repeated features that characterise the species. Knowing a plant has much to do with becoming familiar with both its consistent features and the variability it commonly displays (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).