Twining vines, ± woody. Stems glabrous or with sparse adpressed or abundant spreading fine hairs. Leaves up to 25 cm; petiole 6-9 cm usually with spreading hairs; stipels 2-4 mm; leaflets thinly papery, inconspicuously finely hairy (rarely glabrous) on both sides, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, gently curved; terminal leaflet elliptic, 9-14 × 4-8 cm, base rounded or ± cordate, apex shortly acuminate; lateral leaflets 9-12 × 5-7 cm, width ratio of abaxial to adaxial halves 1.5-2:1, base of abaxial half truncate, base of adaxial half rounded or slightly cuneate. Inflorescence axillary, 8-24 cm, with up to 6 nodes all in upper part, without flowers or scars in lower part; bracts usually persistent, broadly ovate, 2.5-4 × (0.7-)2-2.5 cm, both sides with dense fine usually adpressed short hairs; bracteoles caducous, up to 3 × 0.5 mm; pedicels 8-10 mm, with dense adpressed fine pale hairs. Calyx densely hairy; tube ca. 1 × 2 cm; lobes broadly triangular, laterals 4-6 × 4-6 mm, lowest (8-)12-14 × ca. 6 mm. Corolla white; standard 3-3.5 × 1.8-2 cm, ca. 1/2 length of keel or slightly longer; wings 5.5-6 × 0.8-1(-1.5) cm; keel equaling wings. Legume broadly oblong with rounded apex and base, 13-14 × 6-7 cm, 1.5-2 cm thick, leathery, with abundant reddish hairs and irritant bristles, both margins with a pair of wide ± flat wings 12-15 mm wide, both surfaces with 10-20 obliquely transverse erect crowded parallel lamellae completely concealing fruit surface, each divided into 2 wings along their margin with each wing flat or upcurved and up to 7 mm wide, lamellae all interrupted along midline of legume and not extending into marginal wings of fruit. Seeds (2 or)3, reddish brown, with black striations and spots, reniform or almost discoid, ca. 3 × 2.5 cm, ca. 1.2 cm thick; hilum black, length slightly longer than 1/2 circumference of seed. Fl. Aug, fr. Oct.
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