Decumbent or nearly erect or even subscandent herb or subshrub, the branchlets subterete, longitudinally striate, usually pilose with gland-tipped hairs, sparingly or moderately aculeate with broad-based, recurved thorns. Leaves moderate, bi-pinnate, the pilinae usually about 4 (2-8) pairs opposite on the rachis, the leaflets many (20 more or less) pairs per pinna; petioles moderate, 1-3 cm. long, normally shorter than the rachis, armed and pubescent like the branchlets, otherwise egland-ular; rachis 1.5-8 cm. long, like the petiole but less pubescent, bearing a subulate appendage at insertion of each pair of pinnae; pinnae 1-4 cm. long, setose-spinose particularly on the pulvinus; leaflets broadly linear, 2-S mm. long and usually less than 1 mm. wide, rounded or obtuse apically, obliquely subtruncate basally, gla-brous or sparingly puberulent, the venation obscure except for the costa; stipules lanceolate-subulate, about 5 mm. long, pubescent. Inflorescence of pedunculate heads solitary or few-fasciculate from both non-foliate subterminal nodes and lower foliate nodes, thus appearing racemose distally; peduncles up to 3 cm. long in age, most frequently glabrous; heads globular, compact; floral bractlets ovate-lanceolate, about 1 mm. long, ciliate. Flowers sessile, pink; calyx minute, much less than I mm. long; corolla funnelform, about 3 mm. long, glabrous, markedly striate, the 4 lobes about equalling the tube, subrigid and pointed in bud; stamens 8, about 7 mm. long, glabrous, the filaments somewhat thickish. Legume narrowly linear, 4-7 cm. long and about 4 mm. wide, flat, several-segmented, stipitate, usually glandular-pubescent and setose when young, less prominently so in age, the per-sistent margins short aculeate-setose.
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