General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems trailing to climbing, 10-150 cm long, angled or flanged but not winged, glabrous to short-hairy.

Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound with 6 to 12 leaflets; leaflets paired or scattered, egg-shaped to oblong, 1-7 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide, rather fleshy, strongly veined when dry; tendrils well developed, grasping or branched or neither; stipules large, leafy, obliquely arrowhead-shaped, about as long as the leaflets.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a loose, stalked, axillary cluster of 2 to 8 pea-like flowers; corollas reddish-purple to blue, often 2-coloured, up to 3 cm long, the wings and keel shorter than the banner, the banner-claw equal to the blade; calyces 10-15 mm long, the teeth lanceolate, the upper pair 1/2 as long as the lateral pair which are 1-2 mm shorter than the lowest one, all three of the lower teeth longer than the tube.

Fruits:
Pods, usually hairy, 3-7 cm long, 1 cm wide; seeds 5 to16.

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.