Plants 50-90 cm tall, with hairs 0.2-0.8(-1) mm. Stems at base up to 6 mm thick, with slender, non-flowering lateral branches out of most of leaf axils, loosely covered with ascending, mostly black hairs. Leaves on main stem 5-9 cm; stipules on main stem linear-acute, 1-1.4 cm, white ciliate, those on lateral branches 4-5 mm; rachis slender, with ascending white hairs; leaflets in 10-15 pairs, very narrowly elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 10-17(-20) × 2-6 mm, abaxially rather densely appressed white hairy, adaxially glabrous, apex acute; leaves and leaflets on lateral branches mostly distinctly smaller. Racemes densely many flowered, ovoid to capitate, later strongly elongated and in fruit up to more than 15 cm; peduncle 2-7 cm, loosely covered with ascending to spreading white and predominantly black hairs; bracts whitish membranous, linear-acute, 3.5-6 mm, black ciliate. Calyx shortly tubular, 5-6 mm, strongly obliquely cut at mouth, in lower part loosely, toward teeth rather densely, covered with longer appressed black or white hairs, young inflorescences therefore white or sometimes black sericeous; teeth slightly unequal, 2 adaxial 1-2 mm, 3 abaxial 1.5-3 mm, sometimes all teeth nearly equal, subulate, 3-4 mm. Petals pale yellow or whitish, often purplish suffused; standard 12-13 × 4-5.5 mm, narrowly oblong-elliptic; wings 11-12 mm; keel 11-12 mm. Legumes with a stipe 4-5 mm, ellipsoid, 1-1.5 cm, 4-5 mm high and 2-3 mm wide, keeled ventrally and dorsally; valves covered with subappressed to ascending black and white hairs up to 1 mm.
Forests and alpine meadows; at elevations from 3,800-4,400 metres in the Himalayan regions of Sikkim and western China.
Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.
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