Herbs or rarely, shrubs. Stipules
adnate to base of petiole. Leaves digitately
5-11-foliolate. Flowers usually numerous in terminal and leaf-opposed racemes. Calyx deeply divided,
2-lipped; the lower lobe 3-fid. Corolla with beaked keel. Stamens joined in a closed tube; anthers alternately long and short. Pod dehiscent. Worldwide: 200 species in the Andes, Rocky Mts, Mediterranean, tropical African highlands and eastern South America Malawi: 1 cultivated taxon. |