Shrub or subshrub, often with a single slender brittle stem or several virgate stems 0.9-3 m. tall, but some flowering shoots may be as little as 10 cm. long, grey pilose when young but soon glabrous; bark purple-brown or dark grey, finely longitudinally ridged when dry; tuber up to the size of a rugby football, about 30 cm. below ground.. Leaves (1(cult.)-)2-3-pinnate, 15-40 cm. long, with 2 pairs of pinnae and with 3-5 leaflets, densely pubescent when very young, later glabrescent; leaflets oblong, elliptic or obovate, 2.5-6(-7 cult.) cm. long, 1.5-4.5(-5.2 cult.) cm. wide, rounded or emarginate but apiculate at the apex, cuneate, rounded or subcordate at the base, glabrous or finely puberulous, the venation ± prominent beneath; petioles up to 2.5 cm. long.. Flowers in sparsely pilose inflorescences appearing when the plant is leafless; rachis 4 cm. long; bracts oblong, 1.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide, obtuse, sparsely pilose; stalks elongate, cylindrical, articulate, 0.5-2 cm. long, true pedicels short.. Receptacle tubular, 1.3-3 cm. long, 2 mm. wide.. Sepals rose, linear-oblong, 0.9-1.2 cm. long, 3-4 mm. wide, deflexed, pubescent at the apex; petals paler rose to bright pink, often white at base or yellowish, linear, 1.2-1.5 cm. long, 3 mm. wide.. Stamens attached to margin of receptacle on very narrow annulus, filaments 1.2 cm. long; anthers yellow-green, 2 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; staminodes 5, episepalous, ± as long as stamen-filaments.. Ovary 5 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide, glabrous, the stipe 5 mm. long; style white, filiform, up to 2 cm. long in young fruit but mostly as long as staminodes.. Pods purple-brown with bloom or purple-striped, 13.5-30 cm. long, 1.2-1.4(-2.1) cm. wide, each valve with 2 grooves.. Seeds yellow-green or colourless, the body 1-1.3 cm. long, 8-9 mm. wide, transversely ridged and pitted, the wings 2-3 cm. long overall, separated by wide sinuses at the extremities.. Fig. 2/5, 6, 10.
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