Description
Key Characters:
Growth Form:
Shrubs up to 4(–10) m tall.
Stems:
Branches long, leafy, tomentose.
Roots:
Leaves:
Leaves compound.
Alternate, deciduous.
Leaflets narrowly elliptic; 15–40 mm long, 5–13 mm wide.
Leaflet margins entire.
Petiolate.
Stipules absent or minute.
Flowers:
Flowers in clusters, in axillary pseudoracemes, these in groups of 2–4, apex vegetatively continuing.
Flowers papilionaceous; bracteoles present.
Calyx ca. 10 mm long, brown pubescent, Calyx bilabiate, 5-lobed, the upper lip 2-toothed, the lower one 3-toothed.
Corolla white or pale yellow, standard 15–20 mm long.
Stamens 10, connate; anthers alternately longer (basifixed) and shorter (versatile).
Ovary superior; ovules numerous.
Fruit:
Pods linear–falcate; 4–7 cm young; long; 1.5–2 cm wide; brown pubescent.
Seeds 3–8; oblong–ellipsoid; slightly laterally flattened; 10–12 mm long; ca. 8 mm wide.
Ploidy:
2n = 50; 52
Habitat:
Primarily in pastures.
Elevation Range:
640–1,525 m.