Erect or spreading annual herb, sometimes woody at the base, 20–60 cm tall; stems puberulous or pubescent, becoming almost glabrous with age. Leaves alternate, unifoliolate; stipules lanceolate, 0.5–2 cm long; petiole 2–8 mm long, channelled; stipels 0.5–1.5 mm long; petiolule 0.7–1.5 mm long; leaflet elliptical or oblong to narrowly lanceolate, 1–10 cm × 0.5–3 cm, subcordate at base, acute to emarginate and mucronulate at apex, margins entire, finely puberulous and with some hairs on the veins below. Inflorescence a terminal or leaf-opposed pseudoraceme, sometimes paniculate, very lax, the internodes between the 3–7 pairs of flowers long; peduncle 3–4 cm long, rachis 3–11 cm long; bracts ovate-lanceolate, up to 5 mm long, scarious, deciduous. Flowers bisexual; pedicel 1–2 mm long; calyx with 1.5–2 mm long tube and 5 narrowly triangular lobes 3–4 mm long, upper 2 connate except at apex, puberulous or pubescent; corolla with obovate, clawed, orange-buff to pink or reddish-violet, rarely whitish standard 4–6 mm × 3–4 mm, 2 obliquely oblong, purplish-mauve wings 5–5.5 mm × 1–1.5 mm, and pale greenish keel 5–6.5 mm long; stamens 10, alternately long and short, 9 connate into a tube 5–6 mm long, 1 free; ovary superior, linear, ca. 3 mm long, 1-celled, style filiform, ca. 3 mm long, stigma capitate. Fruit a linear-oblong pod 18–25 mm × 2–2.5 mm, indehiscent, 2–8-jointed; joints subcylindrical, 2.5–4 mm × 2–2.5 mm, with raised reticulate ridges, puberulous. Seeds oblong-ellipsoid, slightly compressed, ca. 2.5 mm × 1.5 mm × 1.2 mm.

PROTAbase: Alysicarpus ovalifolius

Used as a wound medicine.