Erect shrub, able to grow up to 3 - 4 m tall. Pinnately compound leaves are composed of 6 - 12 pairs of leaflets (30 - 60 cm long). Oblong leaflets are smooth and thinly leathery (6 - 15 cm long, 3.5 - 7.5 cm wide). They have a rounded tip with a slight indentation in the middle. Flowers are arranged in a vertical column and bloom from the base of the column. The inflorescence, known as a raceme, resembles a lit, yellow candle, because the flowers at the base are yellow, while the unopened flower buds at the top are covered by orange bracts. Winged pods are dark purple to black, smooth and 4-sided. They contain 50 - 60 flattened, triangular to squarish seeds.