Erect fastigiately much-branched shrub up to c. 1 m. tall; ultimate branchlets ∞, wiry, terete, 1-2 mm. diam., striate, glab. Infl. us. of 1 raceme per notch; racemes (3)-5-(10)-fld, us. compact, on glab. peduncles up to 10 mm. long. Fls c. 5 × 5 mm., on glab. pedicels up to 4 mm. long. Calyx ± 2 × 2 mm., glab.; teeth acute. Standard dark purple near base, purple-veined and -flushed above; keel whitish, auricles bluntly pointed; wings white, purple-veined, auricles rounded. Ovary glab. Pods obliquely obovate-oblong, ± turgid, breadth > depth, 4-5 × 3 mm., stramineous (to brown, rarely black); valves reticulate; beak subulate, ± 1 mm. long. Seeds 1-2, yellowish, mottled with dark brown or black.

Erect or spreading shrub, up to 1-2 × 1-2 m, with densely placed branches and cladodes. Branches erect and spreading from base, 10-40(-60) mm diameter. Cladodes linear, striate, compressed, erect to spreading, green, glabrous, often crowded at ends of branches, 60-220 × 1.5- 2.5 mm; apex subacute, yellow; leaf nodes 4-9. Leaves 1-9-foliolate, fleshy, obovate or sometimes ovate, hairy; adaxial surface mottled; abaxial surface green; apex emarginate to retuse; margin hairy; leaflets sessile or with short petiolule, 1.5-7 × 1-6.5 mm; petiole hairy, 8-16 mm long. Leaves on cladodes reduced to a scale, triangular, glabrous, < 0.5 mm long; apex acute. Stipules clasping shoot, triangular, 0.4-0.5 × 0.4-0.5 mm; adaxial surface glabrous; abaxial surface hairy, becoming glabrous with age; apex subacute to obtuse; margin hairy. Inflorescence a raceme, 1 per node, each with (3-)5-6 flowers. Peduncle glabrous to sparsely hairy, green, 7-16 mm long. Bracts triangular to narrow-triangular, pale green becoming membranous, 0.5-1 mm long; apex acute to subacute; margin hairy. Pedicel glabrous, pale green, 2-A mm long. Bracteoles at base of receptacle or on upper part of pedicel, narrow- triangular, green and flushed red, glabrous, 0.4—0.8 × 0.1-0.3 mm; apex acute; margin hairy. Calyx campanulate, c. 1.5 × c. 1 mm; inner and outer surfaces glabrous, green, usually flushed with red. Calyx lobes triangular, flushed red, c. 0.5 mm long; apex acute; margin hairy. Bud white to pale purple. Standard obovate, spreading above wings and keel, 3—4 × 3.5^4.5 mm; adaxial surface purple, purpleveined; abaxial surface white, purple-veined; apex retuse; margin recurved; claw pale green, c. 1 mm long. Wings oblong, longer than keel, c. 4 × c. 1 mm; adaxial and abaxial surfaces white, distal area flushed purple, sometimes purple-veined; auricle rounded, white, c. 0.3 × c. 0.3 mm; claw pale green, c. 1 mm long. Keel (Fig. IB) c. 4 xc. 1.5 mm; distal area of adaxial and abaxial surfaces purple, central area white, and proximal area pale green; auricle rounded, white, c. 0.25 mm long; claw pale green, c. 2 mm long. Stamens 3-3.5 mm long; lower filaments connate for c. 7A length and with outside filaments free for 0.3-0.5 mm. Pistil exserted beyond stamens, c. 4 mm long; style with a ring of hairs below stigma; ovules 6-7. Pod obovate, broad at distal part, dorsally compressed, brown, pale grey, or straw-coloured, indehiscent, with inflated valves, 5-5.5 × 3-4 mm; beak on upper suture, slightly curved, stout, pungent, c. 1 mm long. Seeds oblongreniform, 1 (-2) per pod, light olive green or yellowgreen with black mottling, 2-2.5 × 1.5-2 mm. FL Oct-Feb, FT Dec-Jul.