After good rain the summer rooibos is very green. Combretum apiculatum subsp. apiculatum leaves, broadly obovate-elliptic here are opposite in some cases, sub-opposite in others on the same twig; they may also be alternate or whorled in threes.

The petioles are quite short in picture, the leaf tips slender, protruding acutely and twisting. The margins are asymmetrically wavy and entire. The midribs and larger veins are clear to see, pale cream and fading into net-veining. The ascending lateral veins, four to ten of them on each side of the midrib, curve in near the margins and merge with net-veins about as much as joining the next lateral vein. There is moderate shine on the medium green upper surfaces of the leaves; the lower ones are paler (Carr, 1988; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).