Stems are clad with bi-pinnate, fine, mimosa-like sensitive leaves that close up when touched.

Primary leaf segments have 8-40 small oblong leaflets arranged in opposite pairs.

Tiny greenish-yellow flowers are densely crowded into feathery orbicular inflorescences that bloom in summer.

Young ends of stems and pods are edible and usually eaten raw as a vegetable in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and cultivated much like rice.

Whole plant extract exhibited cytotoxic activity on neoplastic cell lines[citation needed].