The leaves of Crassula nudicaulis var. nudicaulis grow in rosette-like tufts. The stems may branch just a little at the base as in the picture. Old stems will grow woody. The skraalplakkies as they are called by some of the Afrikaans locals, may cover patches of sandy coastal veld in their habitat, but mainly through stands of several independent plants growing in close proximity to each other, rather than individual plants spreading widely.

Before the summer sun has had its full say in parts where the plant receives winter rain, the leaves may be green like these seen near the beach at Onrus in early summer. The leaves are oblong, succulent and roughly erect. The margins are entire, their tips rounded. Some leaves will display slight inward curving of the margins, but not all. A leaf may be as long as 8 cm and about 1,5 cm wide, sometimes sparsely hairy (Mustart, et al, 1997; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).