Deciduous shrubs, 1-4 m tall. Stems pubescent, glabres­cent. Leaves 10-15 cm; stipules bristlelike; petiole 1-2 cm; leaflets 11-25, ovate to elliptic, 1-4 × 0.6-2 cm, abaxially white puberulent, adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent, black glandular-dotted, base broadly cuneate or rounded, apex acute, obtuse, or retuse, with a shortly curved spinose tip. Racemes 1 to many, terminal or subterminal, 7-15 cm, densely pubescent; bracts 3-4 mm. Calyx 2-3 mm; teeth triangular, shorter than tube. Standard purple, obcordate, ca. 6 mm; wings and keel absent. Style puberulent. Legume dark brown, oblong, curved, 6-10 × 2-3 mm, apex beaked, strongly glandular-dotted, 1-seeded. Seed lustrous, reniform, ca. 5 mm, curved upward. Fl. May-Jun, fr. Jul-Sep.

This is a variable species with many synonyms and described varieties in North America. It is regarded as a noxious weed in some parts of the United States.

Sandy banks of ravines, cultivated or escaped. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Zhejiang [native to North America; widely introduced in N Asia and Europe].