Herbs, perennial, erect, 12-50 cm tall. Root tuber fusiform to globose, succulent. Stems densely villous. Leaves 1-foliolate; stipules linear to linear-lanceolate, 4-8 mm, hairy, persistent; petiolule ± absent; blade lanceolate, 1.5-7 × 0.4-1.5 cm, abaxial surface shortly villous, adaxial surface and margins sparsely villous, base rounded or nearly cordate, apex obtuse or acute. Raceme axillary, extremely short, 1-or 2-flowered; bracts linear. Calyx campanulate, 3-5 mm, 5-lobed, brown villous. Corolla pale yellow; standard obovate, base with 2 pendulous oblong auricles; wings obovate-oblong, auriculate on one side; keel shorter than wings, obovate-oblong. Ovary densely long hirsute; style inflexed, glabrous. Legume rhomboid-elliptic or oblong, 8-10 × 5-6 mm, black when mature, hirsute. Seeds 2, black, small, reniform; hilum linear, almost up to seed length; funicle at one end of hilum. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Jul-Oct.
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An erect small shrub. It grows to 50-90 cm high. The rootstock is tuberous and woody. It has a hairy covering of slightly curved grey hairs close to the plant with more brown and longer hairs spreading out. These last ones are 2.5 mm long. The leaves have one leaflet. These are narrow and oval. They are 2-8 cm long by 0.7-1.8 cm wide. There are a few hairs on the top surface of the leaf and it is very hairy underneath. The flowers are in the axils of leaves. They are 0.7 cm long. The fruit is a pod which does not have a stalk. It is oblong and about 1 cm long by 0.6 cm wide. It turns black eventually. The seeds are mottled brown and green. They are oblong and 4-5 mm long by 2.5 mm wide.
Found in a range of habitats including coniferous and open broadleaf forest; savannah and grassland; and roadsides, usually on sandy soils; at elevations up to 1,500 metres, occasionally to 2,000 metres.
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A tropical plant. It mostly grows in drier grassland areas. It can grow in open forest and wet locations. In Papua New Guinea it grows from 10-750 m altitude. In Asia it grows to 2000 m altitude.
Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.
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