General:
Perennial herb from a stout, woody stem-base; stems few to several, erect or ascending, up to 1 m tall but barely 10 cm in exposed areas, often cylindric-hollow, soft-shaggy (especially when young) to short-stiff-hairy.

Leaves:
Alternate, palmately compound on stalks rarely twice as long as the longest leaflet; leaflets 5 to 8, broadly oblanceolate, blunt to rounded at the tip, 1-7 cm long, shaggy-soft-hairy below but generally glabrous above.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a stalked, terminal raceme, 5-35 cm long, of whorled pea-like flowers; corollas bluish, often tinged with white or pink, 15-21 mm long, the banner circular, glabrous, the wings slightly longer than the banner, the keel fringed with hairs along the upper edges; calyces 2-lipped, the upper lip 2-lobed and 6-8 mm long, the lower lip 3-toothed, boat-shaped, bent backwards, 6-12 mm long.

Fruits:
Pods, 3-6 cm long, silky-hairy; seeds 7 to 11.

Notes:
Two sympatric extremes are usually recognized.

1. Hairs spreading, long and shaggy; stems 10-15 mm in diameter.................var. nootkatensis

1. Hairs appressed or short and soft-wavy; stems usually less than 9 mm in diameter................ var. fruticosus Sims

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.