The blue-green leaves of Elephantorrhiza burkei are bipinnate, i.e. twice-compound, growing on petioles that measure from 2,5 cm to 6,5 cm in length. Four to eight pairs of slender pinnae, each bearing up to 32 pairs of leaflets (pinnules), grow from the rachis, which may become anything from 3,5 cm to 14,5 cm long. A leaflet measures from 7 mm to 15 mm by 1,5 mm to 4 mm. Leaflet tips are pointed, their bases nearly symmetric (Coates Palgrave, 2002).