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Tree, 3–20 m. tall, or at limits of range in southern Africa a several-stemmed shrub, with irregular rounded crown, ± deciduous; bark scaling or reticulately fissured, light grey or brown; slash exuding red gum.. Branchlets pubescent to tomentellous, glabrescent.. Leaves (11–)17–40 cm. long; stipules linear, up to 1–1.5 cm. long, fugaceous; lateral leaflets 1–9 on either side, subopposite to markedly alternate, ovate or oblong-ovate to variously elliptic or suborbicular, up to 6–11 cm. long and 3–7 cm. wide, shortly and bluntly acuminate to rounded and emarginate at apex, cuneate to rounded at base, with short fine appressed or spreading indumentum variously developed beneath, rarely glabrous; primary lateral nerves curved-ascending, 10–14on either side; venation prominulous or fine and flat.. Flowers produced in profusion in mostly terminal laxly branched spreading panicles up to 12–40 cm. long; bracts linear-lanceolate, 1–2 mm. long, fugaceous; bracteoles at top of 3–10 mm. long pedicels similar.. Calyx 6–7 mm. long, glabrous outside in East Africa (sometimes pubescent further south), with pubescence on the lobes inside; lobes up to half as long as the tube.. Corolla 12–18 mm. long, yellow or orange-yellow, fragrant; standard with a broadly obovate or suborbicular blade, reflexed, marginally crimped; wings broadly expanded, enveloping the keel.. Fruit shortly stipitate, elliptic-oblong, rounded rather more on the lower side, or ± semi-orbicular, the wing relatively narrow, coriaceous, and scarcely produced to the subterminal style-base, 4–6.5 cm. long, 2.5–3.5(–4) cm. wide, glabrous or (outside East Africa) pubescent, radially venose.
Leaves 12–35 cm long; petiole 3–7 cm long, rachis 6–15 cm long, pubescent or glabrous; petiolules 2–20 mm long, puberulous or glabrous; leaflets 3–19(21), alternate, opposite or subopposite, 2–10 × 2–7 cm, circular to elliptic or ovate, occasionally obovate or oblong-subelliptic, rounded or broadly retuse or shortly and bluntly acuminate to acuminate-acute at the apex, rounded or obtuse at the base, coriaceous or thin and stiff, glabrous on upper surface, paler and appressed-pubescent beneath; lateral nerves in 6–14 pairs; stipules 4–8 mm long, caducous.
Standard 13–15 mm in diameter, circular, claw c.4 mm long; wings as long as the standard, auricle obtuse, claw 4–5 mm long; keel petals shorter than the wings, arcuate, claw 4.5 mm long.
Calyx 5–7 mm long, pubescent inside the teeth, otherwise glabrous or puberulous; upper teeth shallow, rounded, the lateral ones obtuse, the lower one c.2.5 mm long, acute.
Pod 1–2-seeded, 3–6 cm long, obovate to broadly elliptic or oblong, somewhat incurved, rounded and raised-nerved in centre; style remains at the apex or nearly so.
Inflorescence a terminal (rarely also axillary) panicle up to 30 cm long, appressed-pubescent or glabrous; bracts and bracteoles caducous.
Young parts greyish-sericeous or fulvous-pubescent; branchlets pubescent-glabrescent or glabrous; bark grey or reddish, smooth.
Ovary 3–4-ovulate, glabrous, or sparsely pilose on the margins, or densely pubescent; stipe c.4 mm long, appressed-pubescent.
Deciduous tree up to 18 m tall; crown rounded; bark grey or brown, flaking off in scales.
Flowers 14–17 mm long; pedicels 2–14(18) mm long, puberulous or glabrous.
Seeds 6–7 × 3–4 × 2.5 mm; testa dark brown, smooth.
Stamens 10, all fused.
