The two to four grey-green leaves grown by a Pterygodium catholicum plant clasp the stem. The fleshy stems are sometimes red or red-spotted as in the photo.

The leaves are oblong to lanceolate, their margins sometimes slightly wavy and the leaf tips acutely pointed. The dull green upper leaf surface may show faint, pale longitudinal stripes, the lower surfaces in picture have purple vein lines.

The emerging inflorescence is still obscured by the upper (tallest) leaf in the photo (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; Manning, 2009; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).