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Leaflets 1–3(4), 2.5–14 × 0.5–2.4 cm, elliptic, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, acute or rarely obtuse at the apex, rounded, minutely subcordate or narrowed at the base, ± covered, particularly on the margins and the nerves beneath, with long spreading, almost tubercular based hairs c. 3 mm long which do not in any way hide the leaf surface; glands not apparent; main veins raised or impressed above, raised beneath; tertiary venation raised and reticulate above; petioles 1–10 mm long; rhachis 0–8.5 mm long; petiolules 1–2 mm long; stipules leaf-opposed, partly fused, 10–23 × 2–4.5 mm, narrowly oblong to lanceolate, pilose at first, veined.
A woody herb. It grows 20 cm high. The taproot develops tubers 1.5 cm across and 2 cm long. The tubers are usually 10-25 cm below the soil surface. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaves are hairy and narrowly sword shaped. The flowers are in open groups. They are yellow with dark purple lines. The fruit are small hairy pods. They are 1.5 cm long.
Perennial herb with 1–few erect unbranched or sparsely branched stems, (3)8–35(50) cm tall, either short and condensed and very leafy, or more elongated; rootstock a globose or ovoid tuber, 1.5–5 × 1–3 cm, sometimes 2, one beneath the other.
Racemes axillary from upper axils or pseudo-terminal, with the rhachis 1–7 cm long, rarely reduced to 1–2 flowers; peduncle ridged, 1.2–14 cm long, pilose; pedicels 1 mm long; bracts subpersistent, 8–10 × 1–2 mm, linear-lanceolate, pilose.
Standard cream-coloured or pale with reddish nerves or brownish flush outside, cream-coloured or yellow within, 7–11 × 3.5–6 mm, obovate or elliptic, hairy but not glandular; wings yellow; keel greenish.
Calyx with long white spreading hairs and yellow glands, 4.5–6 mm long; lobes linear-lanceolate, ± equalling the tube in length.
Pods 1–1.3 × 0.65–1.1 cm, oblong-elliptic, covered with long ferruginous hairs.
Stems slender, when young covered with long spreading hairs up to 4 mm long.
Seeds reddish-brown, 5.2 × 3.5 × 1.7 mm, oblong; rim aril cream-coloured.
