Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Erect annual herbs.

Stems: Stems up to 17 dm long, striate, appressed short–pubescent, taproot with slender branches, nodules often present.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves compound (trifoliolate). Alternate. Leaflets usually linear–lanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic–lanceolate, 6.5–10.4 cm long, 0.4–0.8(–1.5) cm wide. Apex rounded or acute, occasionally mucronate. Base cuneate or rounded. Upper surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent; lower surfaces appressed short–pubescent. Margins entire. Veins faint, 10–25 on each side of midvein. Petioles 15–42 mm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in racemes, flowers 7–8.5 mm long, 20–50 in terminal, somewhat lax inflorescences, rachis 10–35(–42) cm long (incl. peduncle), bracts linear-triangular, 1–1.5 mm long, retrorse at maturity, usually persistent. Flowers papilionaceous; bracteoles at base of calyx, minute, linear–triangular. Calyx sparsely appressed short–pubescent, the tube 2–3 mm long, the lobes 0.7–1.1 mm long, lateral lobes distinct at apex. Calyx slightly bilabiate, the lobes shorter than to longer than the tube. Petals yellow with reddish purple lines externally, standard 5–8 mm long, 5–7 mm wide, wings oblong, 7.4–7.5 mm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, keel petals striate, with non twisted short beak, margins ciliate. Stamens 10, connate into a tube, the tube split at least at base on the upper side; anthers dimorphic, alternately long (and basifixed) and short (and versatile). Elongated anthers ca. 1.2 mm long, short ones 0.2–0.3 mm long. Ovary superior.

Fruit: Pods brown at maturity; 1.8–3.5 cm long; stipitate; the stipe less than 3 mm long; appressed short–pubescent. Seeds 20–50 per pod; pale yellow to orangish brown; 1.4–3 mm long; smooth.

Ploidy: 2n = 16

Habitat:

Elevation Range: