Erica discolor leaves
Author: Ivan Lätti
Photographer: Thabo Maphisa
The ascending to spreading leaves of Erica discolor grow in whorls of three, often on shorth side-branchlets near the tips of the longer erect stems. They are narrow, but thick, shiny and sticky but hairless, almost like tiny cylinders and bright to dull green with pointed tips.
The leaves in picture are of a Kirstenbosch plant marked E. discolor subsp. andrewsanthus. It appears as if splitting of E. discolor into subspecies has been abandoned (Manning and Helme, 2024; Euston-Brown and Kruger, 2023; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).