Hovea trisperma is a perennial, short stemmed, sprawling, woody shrub to 0.6 m (2 ft 0 in) high and multi-stemmed from the base.

The leaves rounded or pointed at the apex, margins may be slightly or distinctly curved under, upper surface smooth or with soft hairs and the petiole 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long.

The inflorescences are borne in leaf axils in a cluster of 1-6 purplish-blue flowers, either sessile or on a short peduncle.

[2][3][4] Hovea trisperma was first formally described in 1837 by George Bentham and the description was published in Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in Sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus liber baro de Hügel.

[6] Common hovea grows in sandy and clay soils in heath, woodlands and mallee from Perth, south to Busselton, and to the south-west near Albany, and Esperance.