Portulacaria afra leaves

The leaves of Portulacaria afra are opposite, stalkless or nearly so and fleshy. Leaves are decussate, i.e. each pair grows perpendicular to the next on the stem.

The leaves are almost circular to obovate in shape. They become 1,5 cm long and 1 cm wide. Leaf colour varies from bright green to pale grey, often with reddish margins.

In the photo young leaves at stem tips are notably yellow in contrast to dark green, shiny older ones with considerable leaf shape variation. The plant in picture forms part of an untrimmed hedge in the Magaliesberg (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Smith and Crouch, 2009).