Older Lachnaea filamentosa stem parts drop their leaves, becoming bare and woody, although often thin. The stem section in picture is in the throes of leaf ageing, the leaves turning yellow and falling.
Above this part the younger, densely imbricate leaves are still green, serving the plant to full extent. Below these leaves the bare stem is greyish and somewhat gnarled (Manning 2007; Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; iNaturalist).