The simple leaves of Maytenus oleoides are spirally arranged on short petioles. The leaf shape is elliptic to obovate with a rounded to notched tip and a tapering base. The margins are entire and rolled under.

Leaves are usually about 3 cm long and 1 cm wide, occasionally up to double that size. Leaf texture is thick, leathery and hairless. The (upper surface) leaf colour is bright to dull green, covered in a bluish bloom, pale on the lower surface. The leaf midrib is cream, ridged on the upper surface, the lateral veins obscure to invisible. When broken, the leaf exudes a pale green sap (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).