More or less evergreen tree, 4.5–21 (–27) m. tall, with a rounded crown; bark grey, becoming reticulately fissured, rough and flaking; slash cream to yellow-green, sometimes at least producing a red sticky exudate. Young branchlets with a ± dense grey or yellowish-grey indumentum of small crisped hairs; older branchlets glabrescent. Leaves ± 17–32 cm. long; stipules linear-lanceolate to pointed-oblong, 6–8 mm. long, sometimes rather rigid and subpersistent; stipels setaceous, 2–4 mm. long; lateral leaflets in 1–2 (vary rarely –3) pairs, lanceolate to ovate or elliptic-oblong, 5.5–12(–17) cm. long, 2–6.5(–10) cm. wide, pointed to rounded at apex, narrowed to the cuneate, rounded or slightly cordate base, a little unequal-sided, ultimately coriaceous, densely covered at least beneath with a greyish or yellowish-grey indumentum of very short crisped hairs, usually ± glabrescent above and to some extent beneath, but sometimes rather persistently floccose-tomentose; primary lateral nerves 7–9 on either side, fairly closely spaced, prominent beneath; venation rather closely reticulate, similarly prominent. Panicles predominantly terminal, ultimately pendulous, with numerous relatively snort slender branches, up to 15–34 cm. long; axes ± densely and shortly covered with hairs like those of the branchlets; bracts linear or lanceolate, 1–2 mm. long, evanescent; bracteoles near top of the 2–5 mm. long pedicel, linear, 1–2 mm. long, caducous. Calyx 4.5–7 mm. long, with a short silvery-grey tomentum; lateral lobes pointed, often acuminate, 2–3 mm. long. Corolla 9–12 mm. long, pale mauve to purplish, faintly scented, often (almost invariably in East Africa) sparsely and shortly hairy at least at the tip of the standard outside; standard obovate, basally auriculate and with small calluses just above. Fruit elliptic-oblong to linear-oblong, with a narrow wing along the upper edge, pointed or acuminate, abruptly to attenuately narrowed to a 5–15 mm. long stipe, 7–15(–21) cm. long, 2–3.5(–4) cm. wide, covered with a short ± dense crisped indumentum (sometimes wearing away on older fruits), laxly venose, 1–2(–3)-seeded.