Plant: Shrub 0.5-2 m, hairy; branches slender, generally leafless, rush-like, green

Leaves: alternate, deciduous; primary leaflets 3, ternately arranged, lateral pair 0.5-1 cm, with 3-6 pairs of secondary leaflets, terminal 1.5-4 cm, with 8-10 pairs of secondary leaflets

INFLORESCENCE: raceme, 5-15 cm, few-flowered, puberulent

Flowers: ± bilateral; sepals ± free, 5-6 mm; petals 6-8 mm, banner yellow with reddish marks, later entirely reddish; stamens ± 8 mm, slightly exserted, yellow

Fruit: legume, dehiscent, 1.5-2.5 cm, sickle-shaped, with sessile or short-stalked glands especially when young, margins ciliate; Seeds 1-several, often ± reniform, generally hard, smooth

Misc: Gravelly or sandy desert gullies, washes, or canyon slopes; 100-500 m.; Mar-May