Bushy short-lived perennial, up to 6–14 dm. tall.. Stem densely covered with rather short whitish slightly spreading hairs.. Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets elliptic or obovate, up to 30–66 mm. long, 12–36 mm. wide, densely pubescent on both surfaces when young, later somewhat glabrescent; petiole 40–80 mm. long.. Stipules filiform, mostly 3–6 mm. long, rarely smaller and rather obscure.. Racemes up to 16–50 cm. long, with many fairly closely arranged flowers; bracts longer than the flowering pedicel, linear, 4–7 mm. long, somewhat persistent; bracteoles inserted on the upper part of the pedicel, filiform, up to 2–3 mm. long.. Calyx 10–14 mm. long, densely short pubescent; lobes narrowly attenuate-lanceolate, ± 3 times as long as the tube, reflexed.. Standard suborbicular, bright yellow, usually with a wine-coloured mark at the base inside, turning reddish overall with age, pubescent outside; wings oblong-obovate, much longer than the keel; keel strongly rounded, with a rather short incurved blunt beak which becomes slightly twisted at the tip in the older flowers, 11–14 mm. long.. Pod oblong-clavate, narrowed into a 4–6 mm. long stipe, (35–)43–55 mm. long, up to 11–12 mm. across, tomentellous, ± 24–36-seeded.. Seeds oblique-cordiform, laterally compressed, 3·5–4 mm. long, markedly rugulose, brown.
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