Berchemia discolor leaves

The leaves of this brown ivory tree have sacrificed parts to feed some of the many that are hungry in the Kruger National Park.

The leaves are opposite on petioles varying in length around 1 cm, in this case a bit shorter. The leaf surfaces are shiny, usually hairless and dark green on top, paler below. The leaf tip tapers, is sometimes notched and shows a twist on some of the leaves in picture that are not too badly eaten.

The midrib is prominent, as are the straight lateral veins, raised on the lower surface, running parallel and similarly spaced to the margins. The veins present a distinctively regular pattern, with slight bulging of the upper leaf surface between them. Leaf margins are entire, sometimes shallowly scalloped (Coates Palgrave, 2002).