Perennial herb up to 250 mm tall. Stems ascending to erect, branching near the base, densely clothed in golden-brown hairs. Leaves trifoliolate, 40-50 x 25-30(-35) mm, broadly elliptic but becoming narrower and longer towards the ends of branches, lower leaves often obovate; apex acute, base cuneate, appressed pilose above, densely woolly below with yellow appressed hairs massed along the veins, glandular; lateral leaflets smaller, gibbous. Stipules 11-16(-20) mm long, falcate-lanceolate, free, clasping the stem, sparingly appressed pubescent with long hairs interspersed from the centre thickening towards the apex. Petioles shorter than 5 mm. Racemes axillary, (40-)60-90(-140) mm long, exceeding the leaves; peduncles 40-55 mm long, densely racemose beyond the middle and bearing 20-30 flowers. Flowers 8-10 mm long, pale red or orange, rarely yellowish; bracts persistent, equal to or exceeding the flower. Calyx 6 mm long, lobes equal; teeth narrowly lanceolate, equal to the tube, keel tooth almost acicular, slightly longer than the vexillar and lateral teeth; covered in 3 mm long yellowish brown hairs and a few scattered glands. Standard 10 x 5-7 mm, narrowly to broadly obovate, subtended by a 3 mm long claw, auriculate; appendages present, situated 4 mm from the base of the claw but above the auricles and free of them. Wing petals 9-10 mm long, 2, 5-3, 0 mm wide, cultrate, strongly auriculate, upcurving, longer than the keel. Keel petals 8 mm long, up to 3.5-4.0 mm wide, covered in yellow glands, distinctly pocketed. Staminal sheath 7-9 mm long, free stamen geniculate. Pistil 8 mm long; ovary 3 mm long, subsessile, densely hairy at least until halfway to the point of flexure of the style; height of curvature 2.5 mm; stigma capitate. Nectary present, margin erose. Fruit 11-12 x 7-8 mm, glandular, covered in reddish shaggy hairs. Seeds 5 x 3 mm, black, oblong. According to herbarium labels this species flowers between October and November, but also occasionally in December and January.
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Differs from E. squarrosum by long and persistent flower bracts. Perennial herb, up to 0.25 m high; stems ascending to erect, branching near base, stems shortly gold-coloured appressed-hairy. Leaflets 40-50 mm long, widely elliptic becoming narrower towards ends of branches, apex acute, upper surface appressed-pilose, veins hirsute, lower surface canescent-puberulent. Flowers 8-10 mm long, red to pink-orange. Calyx 6 mm long, golden-pilose; lobes narrowly lanceolate. Petals: wings longer than keel; keel covered in yellow glands, distinctly pocketed. Flowering time Oct., Nov.(-Jan.). Pod covered in gold-coloured shaggy hairs. Seeds black.
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