Description
Key Characters:
Growth Form:
Climbing perennial herbs up to 4 m long, often rooting at the nodes, sparsely pubescent or glabrous.
Stems:
Roots:
Leaves:
Leaves compound.
Alternate.
Leaflets ovate to rhombic, 3–14 cm long, 2–8 cm wide.
Apex acuminate.
Surfaces sparsely appressed pubescent with stiff hairs.
Leaflet margins entire.
Veins often conspicuously reticulate.
Petiolate.
Stipules oblong–ovate, 3–5 mm long, stipules truncate.
Flowers:
Flowers 6–12 in nodose racemes 3–30 cm long, peduncles 1–25 cm long.
Flowers papilionaceous, bracteoles present; pedicels 2–3 mm long.
Calyx sparsely pubescent, upper 2 lobes connate to form a short bifid lip, lower lobes falcate or lanceolate, 3–4 mm long. Calyx bilabiate, 5-lobed, lower lip 3 lobed.
Petals Standard petal white, rose, or pale purple, suborbicular, 15–25 mm long, wing petals white to purple externally, paler within, keel white or blue, distinctly beaked, the beak spirally incurved ca. 3 turns.
Stamens 10; upper stamen distinct, the other 9 connate into a tube.
Ovary superior; stigma lateral.
Fruit:
Pods linear–oblong; 75–140 mm long; 7–14 mm wide; glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
Seeds 9–15; dark reddish brown; reniform; 5–7 mm long; 4.5–5.5 mm wide; hilum small; white; ca. 1.2 mm long.
Ploidy:
2n = 22
Habitat:
Occurring in dry areas.
Elevation Range: