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A climbing herb. It continues to grow from year to year. It has long stems which can be slightly hairy. The stems can be 1-6 m long. The leaflets are oval or broadly rounded. They are 2.5-12 cm long and 1.8-10 cm wide. They can taper to a point at the tip. They are rounded or wedge shaped at the base. The leaf stalks are 5-18 cm long. The flower cluster is 5-12 cm long. The flower stalk is 3-40 cm long. The flower petals are pale blue. The fruit are long pods 3.5-8 cm long by 6-7 mm wide. They are square in cross section. There are 4-8 seeds inside. The pods have prominent wings which can have slight teeth along the edge. The seeds are blackish purple. They are 5-7.5 mm long and 3.5-6 mm wide.
Inflorescence an axillary pseudoraceme; peduncle 6–33 cm long; rhachis 4–10.5 cm long; pedicels 2–5 mm long; bracts 6–12 × 2–5 mm, elliptic, caducous; bracteoles 9–14 × 4–7 mm, as long as or longer than the calyx, ovate or elliptic, finely pubescent or glabrous.
Leaflets 2.4–9.5 × 1.8–8.8 cm, broadly rhombic to oblate, acuminate, somewhat lobed, glabrous or becoming so; petiole 3–14 cm long; stipules appendaged below the point of insertion, 8–15 mm long overall; stipels 2–4 mm long, narrowly oblong.
Corolla glabrous, pale blue to mauve, standard greenish outside; standard 1.6–2.4 × 1.2–1.5 cm, obovate, apex obcordate, base auriculate; wings 17–23 × 5–10 mm, narrowly obovate, with basal appendages to 6 mm long; keel 15–21 × 4–8 mm.
Calyx glabrous or puberulous; tube 3–5 mm long; upper lobes 4–5 mm long, fused for almost all their length; lower lobes triangular, lateral lobes 4–6 mm long, acuminate, lower middle lobe 4–5 mm long.
Ovary 11–14 mm long, narrowly cylindrical, slightly broader apically, glabrous; stigma terminal or internal, penicillate.
Seeds brown-black, 5–7 × 4–6 × 2–3 mm; hilum black, 2–4 mm long, longitudinally bisecting elliptic, pale aril.
Pod black, 3.2–7 cm × 5–7 mm, oblong, with 4 striate wings 2–5 mm wide, 4–8-seeded.
Perennial climbing herb to 6 m high, often turning black on drying.
Stems glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
