General: Perennial herb from a branching, woody stem-base; stems 1 to several, erect, 30-70 cm tall, sometimes branched above, silky-hairy throughout.
Leaves: Basal and alternate along the stem, palmately compound; leaflets 5 to 9, oblanceolate, pointed or blunt at the tip, 3.5-6 cm long, covered with long silky hairs.
Flowers: Inflorescence a stalked, terminal raceme, 10-20 cm long, of whorled pea-like flowers, the flower-stalks 3.5-6 mm long; corollas deep blue to lavender but sometimes pink or white, 11-13 mm long, the banner silky and with a white or yellow central patch on the back, the wings mostly glabrous, the keel fringed with hairs along the upper edges; calyces 2-lipped, the upper lip 2-toothed, the lower lip slightly longer, entire.
Fruits: Pods, about 3 cm long, nearly 1 cm wide, densely silky-hairy; seeds 4 to 6, pinkish-brown.
Notes: Recognition of infraspecific taxa within this highly variable species does not appear warranted at this time.
Dry sagebrush plains, bunchgrass slopes, cutbanks, and openings in thickets and forests in the steppe and lower montane zones; common in SC and SE BC; E to SW AB and S to NM, AZ and CA.
