Annual to perennial, procumbent to erect herbs or shrubs. Lvs pinnately 3-foliolate; principal lateral veins thin and straight, terminating at leaflet margin often in a tooth; stipules adnate to petiole. Infl. axillary, racemose, sometimes forming dense heads, few- to many-flowered; bracts present subtending fls. Calyx teeth 5, ± equal. Corolla deciduous after flowering. Vexillary stamen free, the others connate; anthers uniform. Style glabrous; stigma subcapitate. Pod 2-valved, falcate or spirally coiled, scarcely dehiscent, spinous or not armed, few- to many-seeded, rarely 1-2-seeded; seeds estrophiolate, smooth and rounded in N.Z. spp.