Erica sparsa’s spreading leaves are straight and oblong, round-tipped. The rolled-under margins make them appear chubby. Many of them are bent back slightly with a hairy ridge around the upper surface.

The new leaves are pale green and clustered at stem-tips only, as most leaves are soon considerably darker green and spaced.

The brown stems in picture are hairier than the leaves (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist).