Woody climber 1–4.5 m. tall, stems often attaining over 1.5 cm. in diameter. Stems usually greenish, sparsely adpressed or somewhat spreading pubescent or glabrous. Leaves 16–34-foliolate; petiole 0.5–1.8 cm. long; leaflets deciduous, oblong, obovate-oblong or ovate, 0.6–2.7 cm. long, 3–10 mm. wide, obtuse to acuminate at the apex, rounded or subcordate at the base, glabrous or glabrescent above, sparsely adpressed pubescent or puberulous beneath. Inflorescences thick and robust, 2–7 cm. long; peduncles 1.5–6 cm. long; flowers subsessile in dense fascicles; bracts and bracteoles 0.5–1 mm. long. Calyx sparsely puberulous, 3 mm. long, denticulate. Corolla yellow, white, pink or mauve, 0.9–1.5 cm. long. Pods oblong, somewhat swollen, 2–4(–5) cm. long, 1–1.5 cm. wide, with a hooked beak, covered with dense short ferrugineous adpressed hairs, smooth or densely covered with tubercles forming transverse ridges. Seeds (1)3–7, scarlet with black area around the hilum or very rarely entirely black or yellowish, ovoid, longest dimension 5–7 mm., shorter dimension 4–5 mm., glabrous and shining, usually remaining attached to the edges of the opened valves for some time.