Herbs erect, 30-120 cm tall with short tuberous rhizome. Stems sparsely to densely pilose with long spreading hairs. Stipules falcate or ovate-lanceolate with serrate margins or rarely entire, apex acute or acuminate. Leaves 10-15 cm long, with pubescent petioles and 1-4 pairs of larger leaflets, the upper leaves sometimes reduced to 3 leaflets. Leaflets 0.5-5 x 0.2-2.5 cm, elliptic, gradually smaller towards the base, alternate with much smaller ones. All leaflets sessile or shortly petiolulate, abaxially glandular and sparsely long pubescent to hirsute, particularly on veins, rarely glabrescent, adaxially adpressed pilose to glabrescent, apex acute or obtuse, base cuneate, margins serrate. Inflorescence terminal, often branched, rachis pilose. Racemes approx. 25-flowered. Flowers 6-9 mm in diameter. Bracts usually 3-lobed, bracteoles ovate, entire or lobed. Sepals 5, triangular-ovate, 3-veined, mucronulate; petals 3-5 mm long, narrowly obovate, yellow. Stamens 5-15. Style filiform, stigma capitate. Fruiting hypanthium (including hooked prickles) 4-6 mm long, deeply 10-grooved, obovoid, pilose to glabrescent, with a series of 2-3 mm long hooked prickles at the apex. Prickles mainly erect to subconnivent, sometimes patent. Fruit usually reflexing only at maturity.