Annual herb with hairy stems. Leaves with a terminal tendril; stipules to about 2.5 cm long, lanceolate. Leaflets paired, to 6 cm long, 3 cm wide, oval to oblong. Flowers mostly of 1-4 flowers, in many colours; summer. Fruit pod to about 7 cm long, hairy, containing about 8 smooth seeds.
This species has been intensively bred for horticulture and floristry to produce groups or series with dwarf or large growth habits, long or foreshortened flower stems, larger flower clusters, individual flowers sometimes with frilled or waved standards, as well as a range of colours and colour combinations, mottling, bicolor, etc.
S Italy, Sicily.
Source: (2002). Fabaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.