Hoary Tephrosia is an annual or perennial bushy
herb, 0.3-1.3 m tall. Stem are white velvety. Leaves imparipinnately
compound with 7-19 leaflets, up to 10 cm long; stipules 2-5 mm long;
leaflets obovate to elliptical, up to 21 mm x 9 mm, hairy on both
sides, each side with 4-8 pairs of distinct veins. Stipules are
lanceshaped, and fall off. Flowers are borne in a terminal or upper
axillary raceme 8-22 cm long; flower-stalk with densely matted hairs,
2-4 mm long; calyx densely matted-hairy, tube about 2 mm long, lobes
long-acuminate, to 9 mm long; standard transversely elliptical to
broadly ovate, up to 7 mm x 10 mm, dorsally with dense brown hairs.
Style glabrous, up to 3-5 mm long, bent sharply upward at base,
twisted, penicillate. Pod is strongly curved, up to 4 cm x 6 mm,
densely silvery or brown-tomentose, hairs to 2 mm long, 4-10-seeded.
Seed are 12-16, rectangular, black, smooth, with short hard
excrescences, up
to 4.5 mm x 2.5-2.75 mm.