Herbs annual or perennial. Stem usually branched, erect, trailing, or climbing by means of tendrils, usually slender, wingless. Leaves paripinnate with rachis terminating in a tendril, bristle, or mucro, rarely imparipinnate with rachis terminating in a leaflet (Vicia subvillosa); stipules entire or toothed at margin; leaflets 1-13-paired, margin entire. Inflorescence a raceme, or flowers in axillary fascicles or solitary; bracts usually absent or caducous. Calyx ± campanulate, equally or unequally toothed, often hairy; teeth not leaflike, at least 2 teeth less than 2 × as long as tube. Corolla various shades of blue, purple, red, yellow, or white; standard with a proximal claw and distal limb, apex retuse. Stamens diadelphous; staminal tube oblique at apex; filaments filiform. Ovary stalked or subsessile; ovules 2-8; style terete, hairy all round distal part, hairy on lower side, or glabrous. Legume usually compressed, dehiscent along sutures. Seeds 2-8, globose, oblate, or oblong; hilum often elongate.
Cal regular or irregular, often gibbous; standard with a broad claw overlapping the wings, its blade obovate to subrotund; wings oblong or narrowly obovate, adherent to and usually surpassing the keel; stamens 10, diadelphous, the tube ending obliquely; style pubescent all around at the summit, or sometimes on the outer (abaxial) side only, otherwise glabrous; fr flat to terete, dehiscent, in some spp. transversely septate; seeds 2–many; herbs with usually small stipules and once-pinnate lvs, the terminal lfl generally represented by a tendril; stem never winged; fls in axillary racemes or few-fld axillary clusters. 140, widespread.
Annual or perennial, erect or scrambling herbs; stems angled but not winged. Lvs pinnate, tendrilous or mucronate, very rarely with a terminal leaflet; leaflets usually pinnately veined, opposite or alternate, in 1-many pairs; stipules simple or toothed. Infl. axillary, racemose, 1-many-flowered. Calyx teeth 5, subequal or upper shorter, < 2× as long as tube. Staminal tube oblique at apex; stamens diadelphous. Style linear, not contorted, variously hairy; ovules numerous, rarely 2. Pod compressed, 2-valved; seeds globose or rarely compressed, with long or short hilum, smooth or rough.
Leaves usually paripinnate, the rhachis terminating in a tendril or bristle, rarely imparipinnate; leaflets often numerous, less often in 1–3 pairs, entire or toothed, folded flat lengthwise in bud; stipules usually small, semi-sagittate, often fimbriate or toothed, herbaceous; stipels absent.
Ovary stipitate or subsessile, 2–many-ovuled; style distally pubescent or pilose all round or on the lower side only, rarely glabrous; stigma terminal.
Corolla small to medium-sized, blue, mauve, purple, yellow or white; standard obovate or oblong, very often adhering to the keel; keel obtuse.
Flowers in axillary racemes or fascicles or solitary; bracts usually small, deciduous; bracteoles absent.
Calyx 5-lobed; tube often asymmetrical; lobes subequal or the upper two shorter and partly joined.
Annual or perennial herbs, mostly climbing by means of tendrils, less often straggling or erect.
Vexillary stamen free or ± united with the others; anthers uniform.
Pod oblong to linear, compressed, dehiscent.
Seeds globular or compressed.