Shuteria vestita - Hairy Shuteria

Hairy Shuteria is a climbing herb, 1-3 m with stems twining, slender, densely velvet-hairy or hairless. Flowers are borne in racemes in leaf-axils, flowers clustered at base; flower-cluster-stalk 2.5-10 cm. Unlike Leafy-Spike Shuteria, the base of the raceme lacks stalkless leaves. Flower are purple to light purple, about 8 mm; standard obovate-elliptic, with stipe; wings and keels oblong, curved, all eared. Sepal-cup tubular, sepals shorter than tube. Bracts and bracteoles lanceshaped, persistent. Leaves are pinnately 3-foliolate; stipules lanceshaped; leaf-stalk 2-4 cm; end leaflet is elliptic to almost rhomboid, 1.5-6 cm, base rounded, tip slightly notched, with short point; lateral leaflets elliptic and slightly oblique, 2.5-5 x 1.5-4 cm, both surfaces velvet-hairy, base rounded, tip notched, with small mucro. Pods are linear, 2-4.5 x 0.3-0.5 cm, compressed, slightly curved, 3-8-seeded. Hairy Shuteria is found in Tropical Asia and China. It is found in the Himalayas at altitudes of 900-2200 m. Flowering: November-January.