The leaves of Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi become 1 m to 1,5 m long, angled outwards around the stem tip at about 45˚. The long, yellow leaf petioles are conspicuous here, continuing into the similarly coloured rachises that display some curvature. Lowest leaflets near the petiole are smaller, but not reduced to prickles.

The leaflets are long and narrow, up to 17 cm long and 7 mm wide. They angle upwards from the rachis, inflexed in a V-shape and ascend towards the leaf tip. Leaflets are covered in a waxy layer, closely spaced and overlapping, their margins entire. Young leaflets are blue-green (glaucous), longitudinally lined with veins visible upon the lower surfaces that are also hairy; older leaflets darken and lose the hairs, their tips becoming yellowish. The leaflet tips typically deviate from being aligned in straight lines along the leaf margins (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Hugo, 2014; www.plantzafrica.com).