Shrubs, erect, 0.8-2.5 m tall. Young branches densely adpressed silky villous. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate; stipules lanceolate, up to 2 cm, villous, with glandular striations, apex long acuminate, usually deciduous; petiole 3-6 cm, narrowly winged; petiolules 2-5 mm, densely hairy; leaflets papery to thinly papery; terminal leaflet broadly lanceolate to elliptic, 8-15 × 4-7 cm, glabrous except for veins, abaxial surface with small dark brown sessile glands, basal veins 3, base broadly cuneate, apex acuminate; lateral leaflets smaller, oblique, base rounded at one side, cuneate on other. Racemes usually clustered at axil, 3-8 cm, with many clustered flowers; peduncle usually extremely short. Calyx campanulate, 6-8 mm, shortly very pale brown villous; lobes linear-lanceolate, ca. 2 × as long as tube, lower one longest. Corolla purple, slightly longer than calyx; standard oblong, shortly clawed, auriculate; wings narrowly elliptic, slenderly clawed, one with auricle; keel oblong, long clawed, apex slightly curved. Ovary elliptic, with very pale brown hairs. Legume elliptic, 10-16 × 7-9 mm, sparsely pubescent, apex with small acute beak. Seeds 1 or 2, glossy black, orbicular. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Oct-Dec. 2n = 22.
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A small shrub or climber. It grows 1.2-3.5 m high. The stems have ridges and are softly hairy. The leaves have 3 leaflets. These are oval or sword shaped and 3-15 cm long by 1.3-8 cm wide. They taper towards the tip and are rounded at the base. There are hairs mainly along the veins. The leaf stalk can be 2-10 cm long. The flowers are about 1 cm long and in dense clusters which are 2.5-7 cm long. The fruit are oblong pods 1.2-1.5 cm long by 7 mm wide. They are softly hairy. They are dotted with glands. The seeds are black and 3 mm wide.
A tropical plant. In Papua New Guinea it is introduced and used as a shelter belt in tea. It grows from 60 m to 1,650 m altitude. In southern China it grows between 200-1,800 m above sea level. In Yunnan.
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Along watercourses in secondary forest, as well as under drier conditions such as in fields infested with Imperata cylindrica.
Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.
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