General:
Perennial herb from extensive rhizomes; stems spreading, 20-100 cm long/tall, branched above, angled, glabrous.

Leaves:
Alternate, pinnately compound; leaflets 11 to 19, oblong to elliptic, 1-2 cm long, pointed, blunt or notched at the tip, papery-margined; stipules free, oblong, blunt-tipped, 2-5 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a long-stalked, axillary umbel of 10 to 20 pea-like flowers that nod in bud but are horizontal in full flower, the raceme-stalks usually longer than the leaves; corollas white to pink or purple, 10-12 mm long, the banner nearly round, with an arched claw longer than the calyx, the wings and keel with ear-like lobes toward the base, the keel purple-tipped; calyces bell-shaped, 2-3 mm long.

Fruits:
Pods, ascending-erect, curved, constricted between the seeds into several segments, linear, 4-angled, 2-6 cm long, breaking up into quadrangular segments; seeds 3 to 8 (10).

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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Coronilla varia L.