Well-spaced, minute marginal teeth occur on the upper half of the Myrsine africana leaves, the margins just perceptibly rolled under. The leaf is slightly folded in along its midrib. Lateral veins are not seen. The glossy, dark green leaf surfaces are covered in fine mottling. Stem-tip leaves are yellow-green.

The younger stems are pale yellowish green, the older ones reddish. The leaves are alternate upon the stems, on short stalks that are sometimes red (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997).