The sessile, stem-tip leaves of Protea aurea subsp. aurea in picture are hairless, rigid and leathery. The leaf-shape is ovate, sometimes nearly oblong, tapering at the tip and tapering more slowly to the base. The leaf-tips are in picture acutely pointed but may also be obtuse or rounded.

Leaf midribs are thick and yellowish in the lower parts of the blades, invisible in the upper parts. Faint lateral veins are visible, ascending from the midrib but also disappearing before the margins.

The blades are pale green, their margins yellowish, appearing cartilaginous. Some plants bear hairy leaves (Manning, 2009; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Rourke, 1980; iNaturalist).