Climbing, prostrate or erect herbs or subshrubs, rarely small shrubs. Leaves pinnately trifoliolate; stipules bilobed or spurred at the base or not spurred, stipels generally present. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, falsely racemose or flowers in dense 1-many flowered subumbellate clusters; rachis usually thickened and glandular at the point of insertion of pedicels; bracts and bracteoles ± deciduous. Calyx 5-lobed, 2-lipped; upper lip of 2 lobes completely or partly united, lower lip 3-lobed. Vexillum with inflexed auricles and 2-4 appendages or rarely appendages absent; keel truncate, obtuse or beaked, sometimes the beak incurved through up to 360°. Stamens diadelphous 9+1, anthers uniform. Ovary 3-many ovuled; style with tenuous lower part obsolete or quite long, filiform or flattened, upper part thickened and cartilaginous, straight or curved, upper portion barbate or hirsute on inner side, sometimes produced beyond the stigma to form a short to long subulate or rarely flattened or capitate beak; stigma completely lateral, oblique or rarely ± terminal. Pod linear or linear oblong, cylindrical or flattened, straight or curved. Seeds mostly reniform or quadrate; aril obsolete to well developed, often 3-pronged.