Lessertia frutescens leaflets

The leaves of Lessertia frutescens are imparipinnate, meaning that the leaflets making up each leaf grow in spaced, opposite pairs with an extra leaflet present at the tip of the rachis. There are from 13 to 17 leaflet pairs, a leaflet from 4 mm to 10 mm long.

Blue-grey in picture, the leaflets are narrowly oblong to elliptic with notched tips, the blade halves turned up alongside the inconspicuous midrib.

The blades are hairy on their lower surfaces, sparsely hairy or hairless on the upper ones. The leaflet margins are also whitish and hairy. The rachises are velvety and whitish like the upper stems. The rachises are faintly channelled in picture.

The leaves are said to have a bitter taste, but are still highly palatable to stock and game (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2007; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).