Diospyros lycioides subsp. guerkei leaves

These so-called quilted leaves of Diospyros lycioides subsp. guerkei were photographed during January at the foot of the Magaliesberg, on the southern side where these plants abound. The habitat here is dry forest.

The leaves are spirally arranged, crowded at the stem tips. Their petioles are short, up to 5 mm. The leaf shape is obovate, oblanceolate or elliptic. The leaf tips taper broadly with slight rounding, some of those in the photo turned down a little. The base tapers, the margins are entire, appearing rolled-under. Leaf dimensions are 1,5 cm to 8 cm by 0,5 cm to 3 cm.

The leaf colour is dull olive-green to grey-green, the young stem-tip leaves are paler, as are the lower leaf surfaces. Leaf texture is leathery. Silky hairs are seen on the leaves in the photo; they may disappear from mature leaves.

This subspecies has distinctly patterned leaf net-veining, reticulated around a few lateral veins curving from the midrib. All veins are sunken conspicuously on the upper surface, causing the quilting. The venation is raised on the lower surfaces (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).