Deciduous tree, 3–12 m. tall, or sometimes a shrub; bark greyish or brown, smooth to reticulately fissured; slash yellow or pinkish-white. Young branchlets densely pilose to floccose-tomentose, soon glabrescent. Leaves (6–)8–20 cm. long, 1–5-foliolate; stipules subulate to pointed-oblong, 3–7 mm. long, mostly caducous, but sometimes some rigid and subpersistent; petiole and rhachis pilose and ± glabrescent to floccose-tomentose; leaflets ovate-oblong to elliptic-oblong or obovate-oblong, rarely oblong-oblanceolate, 3–15 cm. long, (1–)2–9 cm. wide, bluntly pointed to rounded or emarginate at apex, rarely shortly acuminate, cuneate (particularly terminal leaflets of compound leaves) to rounded or cordate at base, coriaceous when mature, felted tomentose at least beneath when young, ultimately subglabrous to pubescent above and rather densely pubescent beneath; primary lateral nerves 6–8 on either side, prominent beneath; venation ultimately strongly raised beneath. Panicles precocious or with young leaves, terminal and in axils of fallen leaves near branch-tips, 10–40 cm. long, with numerous relatively short branches; axes floccose-tomentose; bracts linear to lanceolate, 2–4 mm. long, deciduous; bracteoles at top of the 2–4 mm. long pedicel, usually a little smaller. Calyx 5–7 mm. long, floccose-tomentose; lateral lobes pointed, 2–3 mm. long (sometimes rather shorter and more rounded in subsp. nelsii). Corolla 11–15 mm. long, mauve or lilac to purplish; standard obovate-orbicular to suborbicular, with basal auricles and prominent calluses. Fruit linear-oblong, bluntly pointed, narrowed to the short stipe, 4.5–9 cm. long, 1–2 cm. wide, tomentellous, ultimately somewhat glabrescent, 1–2(–3)-seeded.
