Leptoderris

Woody climbers, less commonly erect to scandent shrubs or trees with slender liane-like branches. Leaves imparipinnate; stipules present, usually caducous; stipels usually present, sometimes lacking; leaflets opposite. Flowers fairly small, crowded on very short ultimate branches of the mostly large terminal and axillary panicles (terminal panicles at least usually well branched); bracts subtending panicle branches mostly similar to stipules; floral bracts small; pedicels short with small mostly caducous bracteoles at top. Calyx narrowly campanulate, small, shortly 5-toothed with the 2 upper teeth united practically to the tips, hairy on both surfaces. Corolla usually white, cream or pale yellowish, often marked red, pink or violet; petals narrow, subequal in length or wings a little shorter, often auriculate at base of blade, glabrous to sparsely hairy or ciliolate at tips; standard narrowly oblong or oblanceolate, with incurved margins, with or without thickenings at base of blade; wings adhering to keel-petals and often with a distinct lateral fold or pocket; keel-petals oblong-elliptic, a little more curved and lightly coherent towards tips on lower side. Stamens united into a tube generally closed above but with openings at base either side of vexillary stamen (the latter may be free in young bud and is often adnate to claw of standard); anthers dorsifixed. Ovary shortly stipitate, few-ovulate; style curved, tapering to a very small terminal stigma, glabrous or with scattered hairs like those of ovary on lower part. Fruits flattened, indehiscent, elliptic to linear-oblong, with or more rarely without a relatively narrow wing along upper edge, papery, usually venose, 1-few-seeded. Seeds reniform, usually finely wrinkled, with a small hilum; rim-aril detaching with rather persistent funicle.