Deciduous, tall tree with thin grey bark, armed with minute, sharp, conical, black prickles arising from woody tubercles; leaves palmately 3-foliolate; leaflets ovate or rhomboid, acute at apex, membranous, terminal one round-cuspidate, broad, truncate or broadly rhomboidal at the base; petioles about 12-15 cm long, mostly unarmed; stipules lanceolate, glandular, caducous; racemes dense, 10-15 cm long, clustered at the end of branchlets, pedicels about 1-2 cm; calyx spathaceous, 2 cm long, mouth very oblique, minutely 5-toothed at tip; corolla bright scarlet, standard much larger than wings and keel broad, subglabrous; wings-keel not more than half as long as the calyx; stamens much exserted, diadelphous, (9+1), upper stamen free, others connate, anthers uniform; ovary stalked; ovules many; style incurved, beardless; stigma capitate; pod 15-30 cm long, distinctly torulose, 6-8 seeded; seeds large, dark red.