Leaf hairiness is not a feature of Protea glabra as confirmed in the specific name. New leaves, however, as these red stem-tip ones, are an exception. The hairs are noticeable upon the margins and may not be present everywhere upon the surfaces.

Stem-tip leaves of P. glabra are clustered densely, unlike the spaced older ones. The young leaf blades appear thinner, tending to curve in along their margins and their tips still pale coloured (Rourke, 1980; Manning, 2007; Coates Palgrave, 2002; iNaturalist).