The leaves of Tylecodon reticulatus subsp. reticulatus may be short and elliptic in a flattish blade as seen on this plant in the Ceres Karoo late in August after rain. The leaves taper to acute tips, the margins slightly turned up. The leaf is thickly succulent, smooth and pale to yellowish green.

The leaves are clustered at the tips of short upper branches. The old stem is divided into several thick branches, bare of leaves and yellowish brown with peeling bark. The dry remains of wrinkly bark discarded in loose pieces still hover around the stem (Frandsen, 2017; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; iSpot).