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the leaflets narrow, pubescent, sometimes sericeous, sometimes glaucous, with a single midnerve; petiolules inconspicuous; petioles elongate; stipules mostly narrow, adnate to the petiole. Inflorescences often showy, blue, purple, red or yellow, racemose, the rachis terminal, several-many flowered; pedicels slender. Flowers with the calyx 2-lipped nearly to the base, the upper lip about as long as the lower; corolla glabrous or sparingly pubescent, the standard broad, the wings apically connate, the keel often beaked; stamens monadelphous, the fila-ments unequal, glabrous, the anthers dimorphic; ovary sessile, the style curved upwards, the stigma capitate, often bearded. Legume oblong, somewhat com-pressed and obliquely constricted between the seeds, dehiscing explosively with a spiral tension, 2-12 seeded; seeds plump with a small, sunken hilum.
Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs. Lvs palmately 5-or more foliolate, very rarely 3-or 1-foliolate, petiolate; leaflets entire; principal lateral veins conspicuous or not; stipules adnate to petiole. Infls terminal, racemose, few-to many-flowered; bracts usually caducous. Calyx bilabiate; lips much > tube; upper 2 lobes connate into an entire, 2-toothed or 2-partite lip; lower 3 lobes connate into an entire or 3-toothed lip. Stamens connate into a closed tube; alternate anthers long and basifixed or short and versatile. Style glabrous; stigma terminal, often bearded. Pod 2-valved, ± straight, dehiscent, not armed, 2-many-seeded; seeds estrophiolate, rough or smooth.
Cal deeply bilabiate, the upper lip 2-toothed, the lower entire or 3-lobed; standard suborbicular with strongly reflexed sides; wings united toward the summit; keel-pet strongly convex on the lower side, prolonged into a beak-like apex; stamens 10, monadelphous into a closed tube for about half their length; anthers alternately linear or minute and subglobose; pods oblong, flattened, with 2–several seeds; herbs with palmately compound, 1–many-foliolate lvs and handsome white, yellow, pink, or blue fls in terminal racemes or spikes. 200, widespread.
Corolla variously coloured, often variegated; standard with a short claw and broad blade, the sides of which are often partially reflexed at anthesis; wings broad, generally enveloping the keel and often marginally adherent; keel beaked.
Seeds prolate, with the small hilum on a short side, the radicular side nearly straight to concave, the opposing side rounded and often bulging below the hilum, the radicular lobe small and receding.
Mostly erect or ascending herbs, rarely shrubs; roots sometimes stout, some-times with large nodules; stems mostly pubescent. Leaves 5-or more digitate,
Flowers usually numerous in terminal and leaf-opposed racemes, alternate to verticillate; bracteoles often attached to the calyx.
Leaves usually digitately 5–11(17)-foliolate, elsewhere sometimes 1–3-foliolate; stipules adnate to the base of the petiole.
Ovary usually sessile, 2–many-ovulate; style incurved, glabrous except often for a ring of hairs below the terminal stigma.
Calyx deeply 2-lipped; upper lobes separate to largely joined; lower lip entire to shortly 3-toothed.
Pod laterally flattened to varying degrees, often constricted between the seeds, dehiscent.
Stamens all joined in a closed tube; anthers alternately long and short.
Herbs or rarely shrubs.
