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Climbing herbs, woody lianes or rarely erect shrubs. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; stipules deciduous; stipels often present. Inflorescences axillary, subumbellate, falsely racemose or condensed paniculate; bracts and bracteoles deciduous. Flowers showy, purple, red or greenish-yellow. Calyx 4–5-lobed, 2-lipped, the upper pair of lobes connate to form an entire or bifid lip. Standard rounded, with inflexed auricles at the base, usually much shorter than the other petals; keel-petals usually horny at the apex. Vexillary stamen free; 5 larger anthers subbasifixed, alternating with 5 shorter versatile or dorsifixed anthers, often barbate. Ovary few-ovuled; style long, filiform, sometimes pubescent but not bearded, bent; stigma small and terminal. Pods or fruits ovoid, oblong or linear, the valves thick, often ribbed, frequently covered with irritant bristles, septate or filled between the seeds, mostly dehiscent but sometimes not opening. Seeds either globose or oblong, with a short or linear hilum and conspicuous rim-aril, or larger, discoid, with an elongated hilum occupying over half the circumference and no aril present.
2's and 3's on an expanded portion of the peduncle. Flowers showy, the calyx campanulate, often with irritating hairs, the upper teeth connate, the lower 3 usually unequal; corolla with the standard shorter than the wings, the wings with margins basally ciliate, the keel narrow, apically falcate and indurate; stamens diadelphous, the upper stamen free, the filaments alternately thick and thin, long and short, the anthers sometimes pilose; ovary tomentose, the short stipe sur-rounded by a glandular disc, the style slender, glabrous or pubescent, the stigma capitate, sometimes of a tuft of hairs. Legume oblong, thick or flattened, the margins often winged, undulate between the seeds and somewhat compressed laterally between the seeds, the surface sometimes lamellate with parallel or irregular raised lamellae which may form elongate enations, mostly densely cov-ered with stiff irritating hairs, tardily dehiscent; seeds flat or convex, discoid, the hilum narrow around more than 1/2 the periphery.
High climbing woody vines. Leaves pinnate trifoliolate, the lateral leaflets oblique; stipels scale-like; stipules often caducous. Inflorescences axillary ra-cemes, the peduncles often elongate and the pedicels subumbellate, at least in bud, bracts often subfoliaceous, enclosing the bud, caducous; pedicels arising in
Seeds either globose or oblong, with a short or linear hilum and conspicuous rim aril, or larger, discoid, with an elongated hilum occupying over half the circumference and no aril present.
Pods ovoid, oblong or linear, the valves thick, often ribbed, frequently covered with irritant bristles, septate or filled between the seeds, mostly dehiscent but sometimes not opening.
Standard rounded, with inflexed auricles at the base, usually much shorter than the other petals; keel petals usually horny at the apex.
Vexillary stamen free; 5 larger anthers subbasifixed, alternating with 5 shorter versatile or dorsifixed anthers, often barbate.
Inflorescences axillary, subumbellate, falsely racemose or condensed paniculate; bracts and bracteoles deciduous.
Ovary few-ovuled; style long, filiform, sometimes pubescent but not bearded, bent; stigma small and terminal.
Calyx 4–5-lobed, 2-lipped, the upper pair of lobes connate to form an entire or bifid lip.
Flowers showy, white, purple, red or greenish-yellow to golden-yellow or almost black.
Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate; stipules deciduous; stipels often present.
Climbing herbs, woody lianes or rarely erect shrubs.
