Stems woody below, or from woody crown; erect, perennial stems are less than 39 inches tall, smooth or sparsely hairy.
Rhizomatous, perennial with yellow pea-like flowers in terminal spike-like short-branched flower heads; seed pods are spreading and slightly curved; stipules (leafy growths) at the base of the leaf stalks are relatively wide, and oval in outline.
Habitat
Mostly wooded areas in sunny or partly shaded locations in pine forests.
Flower Characteristics
Flower bracts 5-lobed, smooth; flowers have a typical pea-shape, petals yellow, banner petal broadly rounded, wing petals narrow lobe-shaped to lance-shaped and broadest above the middle and tapering toward the base.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves trifoliate, leaflets often folded slightly upwards and have very fine hairs along the edge.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Pods have one compartment, are smooth to hairy and slightly curved. They open at maturity with typically 3 to 10 seeds. Seed pods are slightly curved, hairy and terminate in a curved spike.
Oval to rounded in outline, seed surface smooth, seeds olive, brown, or black.