Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra stem-tip

Lush stem-tip marula growth in December is vigorous and colourful. The pinkish red to purplish leaf stalks spiral ascending around the stem, clustering near the tip before stem elongation spaces them, the tip having moved on.

The leaf petioles are long and slender, as are the leaflet petiolules, spaced in opposite, sometimes sub-opposite pairs along the rachis to the terminal leaflet. The highly glossy youngest leaves are reddish to coppery, soon to lose the gloss and festive colouring upon achieving mature size.

Petioles and petiolules are cream-coloured on old leaves (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; iSpot).