Introduced, warm-season, annual, low-growing legume to 50 cm tall (usually much less). Leaves have 3 leaflets; each oblong to obovate, hairless and 8-15 mm long, with pale veins often contrasting with the green leaf. Flowerheads consist of solitary (or small clusters of) white and (upper petal) pink-purple, pea-like flowers about 5 mm long in the axils of the leaves. Pods are small and circular. Flowering is in summer and autumn. A native of China and Japan, it is occasionally sown for grazing and widely naturalized north of Nabiac in NSW, especially where the groundcover is low. Adapted to low-moderate fertility soils and requires a minimum of 900 mm annual rainfall for satisfactory growth. Produces low yields of relatively high quality feed, although it has low palatability due to high tannin levels. Late frosts, dry spring conditions, and grass fires frequently cause serious seedling mortality. It responds to phosphorus applications, nodulates freely with native rhizobia and does not appear to benefit from inoculation. Tolerant of heavy grazing, although it should be