General:
Perennial herb from a long, woody taproot and short-branching stem-base; stems decumbent to ascending, 20-50 cm long/tall, several, branched, leafless at the base, sparsely to densely appressed-hairy.

Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound, 5-13 cm long, short-stalked; leaflets (7) 15 to 21, linear to oblong, 15-25 mm long, short-appressed-hairy beneath, nearly glabrous above; stipules triangular, rusty, 2-4 mm long, above-ground ones not joined, subterranean ones mostly with bases running down the stem, but sometimes joined.

Flowers:
Inflorescence an axillary raceme of 7 to 25 spreading-ascending, pea-like flowers, the racemes 3-7 cm long, their stalks to 9 cm long, from shorter than to as long as the leaves; corollas white to greenish-white with purplish tips, 10-14 mm long, the banner slightly longer than the wings, which are about 1 mm longer than the rounded keel; calyces 5-7 mm long, grey to black appressed-hairy, the triangular teeth 1/2 as long as the tube.

Fruits:
Pods, ellipsoid, 2-3 cm long, drooping on slender stalks 1.5-2 cm long, grey-appressed-hairy to almost glabrous, fleshy and filled with stringy fibres, leathery when dry, curving to a semi-circle and often purplish-mottled at maturity, 1-chambered.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia