An armed liana, up to 15 m in height. Branchlets glossy, black, armed with recurved prickles at the base of pinnae and elsewhere; pinnae 6-11 pairs, leaflets stalked, coriaceous, base rounded to acute, apex mucronate, margins curved, upper surface shining, lower dull; flowers yellow, fragrant, in axillary and terminal racemes 30-60 cm long; pods somewhat swollen, dark brown to black, oblong, 1 or 2 seeded, beaked; seeds orbicular or ovoid to reniform, black, polished, hard.

Antiviral and antifungal (50% EtOH root and stem extract); rubefacient (bark)

Alpha, beta and gamma-caesalpin and X-caesalpin, arginine, cystine, histidine, leucine and isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine (seeds)

As a blood purifier and in asthma (seed); in leucorrhea, as a local application for sores (bark); intermittent fever and for diabetes (roots); in menstrual disorders in tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, India (seed powder).

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.