Branching shrub up to 3 m. tall; hairs on stems white or fulvous, of two kinds—(a) short and dense, (b) sparser, weak, spreading, up to 3 mm. long.. Leaf-rhachis up to 10 cm. long, including a petiole of 3–10 mm., prolonged 2–8 mm. beyond lateral leaflets; stipules ± persistent, broadly based, ovate-acuminate, up to 13 by 8 mm., tomentose outside, glabrous and striate within.. Leaflets 13–21, oblong, up to 50 by 15 mm., rounded or acute and apiculate at tip, rounded, truncate or cordate at the base, glabrous or sparsely pilose above, densely pubescent or tomentose beneath; midrib impressed above.. Flowers purple in dense terminal ± sessile subglobose white or brown tomentose pseudoracemes; bracts large, ovate-acuminate; pedicels up to 9 or 12 mm. long in fruit.. Calyx densely white or brown tomentose; tube ± 3 mm. long; teeth lanceolate-acuminate, with long weak tips, variable in length, up to 10 mm. long, the upper pair about two-fifths united.. Standard silvery or fulvous silky, 13–17 mm. long, 14–17 mm. wide, cordate at base; keel glabrous or with a few hairs on the margin.. Upper filament lightly attached, a marked callous protuberance 1 mm. above the base; filament-sheath 9–10 mm., free parts 3–5 mm., anthers 0.8 mm. long.. Style sharply bent through 100° at the base, slightly spathulate, shortly pubescent within for most of its length, glabrous on the back, 7–8 mm. long.. Pod ascending or spreading, straight, ± 4 cm. long by 6 mm. wide, white or fulvous tomentose; beak central, ± straight.. Seeds 3–6, black, ellipsoid, longitudinal, ± 4 by 3 mm.; hilum central, the aril very small, ring-like.
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Leaves with (5)6–10(13) pairs of leaflets; petiole and rachis appressed-pubescent to villous; leaflets up to 52 × 20 mm, elliptic to oblong or oblanceolate, more or less rounded at the base, obtuse to rounded at the apex, more or less mucronate, the margins flat or inrolled towards the lower surface except at the base and apex, the upper surface glabrous, glabrescent or thinly appressed-pubescent with fine delicate hairs appearing almost glistening-silvery under a high-powered lens, the lower surface thinly to densely appressed-pubescent and sometimes subsericeous; stipules 1.5–5(8) mm broad, narrowly triangular to ovate.
Flowers in dense heads not or scarcely elongating in fruit, usually more or less exceeded by the leaves, with bracts persisting through flowering; bracts 4–10 × 1–4 mm, narrowly triangular to lanceolate, acute; pedicels 2–20 mm, appressed-pubescent to villous.
Calyx 5–12(14) mm, brown or grey appressed-pubescent to villous, the two upper teeth joined for not more than half their length.
Petals 9–24 mm, purple; standard broadly rounded to emarginate at the apex, cuneate or truncate at the base.
Ovary appressed pubescent; style pubescent; pods (20)24–40 × 5–7 mm, brown-villous or appressed pubescent.
Young stem densely appressed-pubescent, tomentose or villous.
Shrub or rarely a small tree, 0.4–5 m high.
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