Trees, shrubs or herbs, often trailing or twining, unarmed, rarely spiny; phyllotaxy spiral to distichous; leaves pinnate, digitate, simple or reduced to scales or replaced by phyllodes; stipules usually present at the base of the petiole, stipels occasional on petiolules; flowers solitary, racernose or paniculate, rarely umbellate, usually bisexual, regular or zygomorphic, 5-merous, hypogynous; bracts commonly supporting the flower, often caducous; calyx usually with 5 lobes, sepals or teeth, rarely 4 or 3 when joined, basally variously united into a tube; petals usually 5, free or somewhat conhate, equal or distinct; stamens usually 10 sometimes less than 10 or numerous, free or variously cormate, inserted with the petals at the rim of the receptacle; anthers 2-1ocular, usually opening by longitudinal slits, uniform or dimorphic; ovary almost always a single superior 2- to many-ovulate carpel, rarely lovulate; ovules attached to the adaxial suture; fruit nearly always a dry legume or pod, usually dehiscent into 2 valves, often dehiscent only along the upper suture or indehiscent, occasionally lomentaceous; seed usually with endosperm, often arillate and/or carunculate. 
(Source: Jessop & Toelken 1986, Flora of South Australia)