Eriosema psoraleoides (Lam.) G.Don

Perennial shrub or subshrub, 0.6-2.0 m tall. Stems erect or suberect, single or few arising from woody rootstock, finely pubescent. Branches angular, strongly ribbed; softly white pubescent or fulvocanescent, tomentose, more so on ridges, giving a characteristic zebra effect; densely or lightly intermingled with numerous small white to yellow glands, orange in older material. Leaves trifoliolate. Stipules free, up to 5 mm long, often minute, patent or sharply down-flexed, becoming scariose even before subtended leaf expands. Petioles 1-4(5) mm long. Leaflets (3.0) 4.5-9.0 (9.5) cm long, 1.5-2.2(2.8) cm wide, laterals smaller; subcoriaceous; narrow obovate (2:1) to narrow oblanceolate (6:1), or elliptic (2:1) to narrow elliptic (3:1), or oblong (2:1) to narrow oblong (3:1), base cuneate; margin almost revolute; apex rounded or obtuse, less often acute or emarginate; terminal leaflet symmetrical, laterals almost symmetrical, base not oblique; finely sericeous above, characteristically penninerved, discoloured, velutinous beneath giving either a very smooth silvery appearance or a buff and grey appearance; numerous orange glands present, often obscured by dense indumentum. Young leaflets hoary. Petiolules 2.0-3.0 mm long, more densely hairy than petiole or rachis, slightly swollen often glandular. Rachis 1-5 mm long. Racemes 10-50-flowered; subdistichous, usually lax; peduncles 2.5-4.0 cm long, nearly always less than one third of raceme, finely pubescent, rachis 6.0-9.5 cm long. Flowers yellow, 11-13 mm long, about 5 mm wide. Pedicels ±2 mm, semi-erect 30° to axis. Pedicel bract 2.0-5.0 mm long, deciduous at bud stage. Calyx 4.0-5.5 (6.0) mm long, less than half the length of flower, lobes all equal, teeth length ± equal to tube, triangular or minaret shaped, with keel tooth sometimes narrower; puberulous inside, shortly pubescent or sericeous outside, with dense orange glands or eglandular. Standard 10.3-12.1 mm long,(7.7)8.0-10.3 mm wide; wide obovate (1.2:1); apex retuse; glabrate or lightly puberulous; claw 1.9-2.0(2.7) mm long, width between auricles 3.4-5.0 mm, auricles 0.5 mm wide, prominent; appendages absent. Wings 10.1-11.5 mm long, 2.1-2.7 (3.0) mm wide; oblong (2:1) to lorate (6:1), cultrate, narrower than but same length as keel blades; claw 2.0-3.0 (3.5) mm long; auricle 1.7-2.0 (3.0) mm high; heel present. Keel blades (9.8) 10.0-11.0(11.4) mm long, (4.1) 4.7-5.8 mm wide; deep pocketed beneath auricle; oblong (2:1); apex subacuate to rounded; claw 2.1-3.2 mm long; auricle (1.8)2.0-3.0 mm high; covered with numerous small orange glands, often with scattered hairs along base line. Staminal sheath 9.0-10.5 mm long, (2.5)3.5-4.0 mm wide, oblong (2.1); vexillar stamen (8.8) 9.1-11.2 mm long, knee up to 2 mm long. Gynoecium 9.5-11.0 mm long; ovary 3.5-4.0 mm long with 0.5-1.0 mm stalk, densely hairy and glandular but hairs hardly exceeding ovary; style very long, partly hairy on base line, incrassated at point of upward flexure; curvature 3.0-3.8(4.0) mm high, stigma very small, semi-globose, inward angled or erect, inserted. Discoid floral nectary 0.5-0.9 mm high, margin smooth, slightly wavy. Fruit wide ovate (1.2:1) to very wide oblong (1.2:1), 13-14 mm long, (7) 9-10 mm wide, coriaceous; beak down-turned, up to 1 mm long; densely white or ferruginous villous haired, hairs erect on margins, mostly appressed on sides. Seeds khaki or chestnut brown, 5.4-5.9 mm long, 3.4-3.9 mm wide, 1.9-2.0 mm thick, rim-aril cream. Eriosema psoraleoides can produce flowers all year round but its flowering is heaviest between October to May with peaks between October to December and March to May.

A tropical plant. It grows below 1,950 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

The pods are picked when they are mature and have started to shrivel then the seeds are lightly boiled before eating. The seeds are cooked with maize meal.

Can be grown by seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.