Softly woody shrub or small tree up to 5 m. tall, closely related to S. keniensis.. Stem and leaf-rhachis glabrous or sparsely pilose, sometimes sparsely aculeate.. Stipules oblong-triangular, caducous; leaf-rhachis up to 28 cm. long; leaflets in 10–24 pairs, up to 28 mm. long and 6 mm. wide but usually ± 12 by 4 mm., glabrous.. Raceme 4–15-flowered, nearly or quite glabrous, the rhachis usually ± aculeate, up to 20 cm. long, including a peduncle of 1–5 cm.; bracts and bracteoles lanceolate, very caducous; pedicel up to 15 mm. long.. Receptacle-cup 2 mm.; calyx-tube 5–7 mm.; teeth broad, ± 2 mm. long.. Blade of standard elliptic-oblong, ± 20 mm. long and wide; claw 4–5 mm. long; appendages up to 1.5 mm. wide and with free tips 4–8 mm. long; blade of wing ± 20 mm. long by 7–9 mm. wide, with a short hook at the base; claw ± 6 mm. long; blade of keel 9–11 mm. long, 5–6 mm. wide at the base and 9–11 mm. near the apex; basal tooth at an angle of 30°–50° to the 10–15 mm. long claw (fig. 49/2, p. 332).. Filament-sheath 17–23 mm., free parts 4–6 mm., anthers 1.2 mm. long.. Ovary glabrous, 40–55-ovulate; style glabrous, ± 8 mm. long.. Pod 20–30 cm. long, ± 4 mm. wide, thicker at the centre than the margin, 40–55-seeded; sutures ± 1 mm. wide; septa ± 5 mm. apart.. Seeds brown, not mottled, suboblong, elliptical in cross-section, ±3 × 1.7 × 1.3 mm.; hilum 0.5 mm. long.
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