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Leaves: petiole and rachis together (6)10–30 cm, armed on the lower side with downwardly hooked prickles often in pairs particularly at the insertions of the pinnae; pinnae 4–10 pairs; pinna rachis 3–8 cm, sometimes with small prickles at the insertions of the lower leaflets; leaflets (4)6–8(9) pairs per pinna, (6)10–28 × (4)6–15(19) mm, elliptic-oblong or broadly so, or the terminal usually slightly larger and broadly obovate, rounded at the apex, glabrous except usually on the midrib beneath and often also the basal part of the lower surface.
Pods 6.5–14.5 × (2)2.5–4.3 cm, including the wing on the upper margin 0.5–1.2 cm broad, elliptic-oblong to narrowly elliptic, with the persistent receptacular disc forming a collar round its base; seeds normally 3–4(?5) but sometimes only 1–2 developing, 8–9 × 6–7 mm (in F.T.E.A.), much compressed.
Stems with sparse hairs or subglabrous, armed with scattered, downwardly hooked prickles up to 11 mm long, which on older stems become enlarged and raised on subconical-cylindrical corky bosses up to 2 cm long and 1.5 cm diameter (see Milne-Redhead 4551 in carpological collection at Kew).
Flowers in terminal and lateral racemes 5–30(40) cm long; bracts linear-triangular exceeding the very young buds and recurving, but falling very early and seldom seen in herbarium specimens; pedicels (4)6–11 mm.
Liane recorded up to 14 m high in the Flora Zambesiaca area (up to 20 m high and stems 8 cm diameter in F.C.B. area).
Petals 7–9 mm long, the lamina suborbicular with a short claw, yellow or greenish-yellow.
Longest stamens 13–17 mm; filaments villous in the lower part; anthers 1–1.5 mm long.
Lateral sepals 5–7(8) mm long; all sepals puberulous to pubescent.
Ovary glabrous or tomentose [see note below].
