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Herbs, twining. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate. Inflorescence axillary, racemose, sometimes with apetalous cleistogamous flowers at base or 1-3 in axils of lower leaves, nodes not swollen but sometimes more than 1-flowered. Bracts persistent or deciduous. Calyx tubular, 4-or 5-lobed. Corolla longer than calyx; petals subequal; standard obovate or obovate-elliptic, glabrous, base clawed, with inconspicuous auricles; keels slightly curved. Stamens diadelphous; vexillary stamen free; cleistogamous flowers with only 3-5 anthers. Ovary sessile or subsessile, with sheathing disk at base; ovules many; style glabrous; stigma small, terminal. Legumes of 2 types: normal and underground; normal legumes linear-oblong, dehiscent, compressed, unjointed, few seeded; underground legumes usually orbicular or ellipsoidal, indehiscent, 1-seeded. Seeds subglobose or ovoid; hilum short, lateral; aril not developed.
Ovary shortly stipitate, many-ovuled; style geniculate, filiform, beardless; stigma capitate, terminal, or in cleistogamous flowers the style short with the stigma angled such that it is in contact with the anthers.
Flowers in lax racemes, sometimes dimorphic with cleistogamous flowers; bracts conspicuous, striate, but bracteoles absent.
Vexillary stamen free, the rest fused into a sheath; anthers uniform, or in cleistogamous flowers up to 5 fertile.
Seeds variously coloured, subglobose or ovoid, with a short lateral hilum.
Calyx 5-lobed, but with the two upper lobes connate.
Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; stipels present.
Corolla small; standard obovate, glabrous.
Pod linear or falcate, compressed.
Climbing herbs.
