Tree, 3–20 m. tall, or at limits of range in southern Africa a several-stemmed shrub, with irregular rounded crown, ± deciduous; bark scaling or reticulately fissured, light grey or brown; slash exuding red gum. Branchlets pubescent to tomentellous, glabrescent. Leaves (11–)17–40 cm. long; stipules linear, up to 1–1.5 cm. long, fugaceous; lateral leaflets 1–9 on either side, subopposite to markedly alternate, ovate or oblong-ovate to variously elliptic or suborbicular, up to 6–11 cm. long and 3–7 cm. wide, shortly and bluntly acuminate to rounded and emarginate at apex, cuneate to rounded at base, with short fine appressed or spreading indumentum variously developed beneath, rarely glabrous; primary lateral nerves curved-ascending, 10–14on either side; venation prominulous or fine and flat. Flowers produced in profusion in mostly terminal laxly branched spreading panicles up to 12–40 cm. long; bracts linear-lanceolate, 1–2 mm. long, fugaceous; bracteoles at top of 3–10 mm. long pedicels similar. Calyx 6–7 mm. long, glabrous outside in East Africa (sometimes pubescent further south), with pubescence on the lobes inside; lobes up to half as long as the tube. Corolla 12–18 mm. long, yellow or orange-yellow, fragrant; standard with a broadly obovate or suborbicular blade, reflexed, marginally crimped; wings broadly expanded, enveloping the keel. Fruit shortly stipitate, elliptic-oblong, rounded rather more on the lower side, or ± semi-orbicular, the wing relatively narrow, coriaceous, and scarcely produced to the subterminal style-base, 4–6.5 cm. long, 2.5–3.5(–4) cm. wide, glabrous or (outside East Africa) pubescent, radially venose.
