[1] It is native to southern, central Europe and western Asia, and it is sometimes cultivated as an agricultural crop for use as hay and fodder.

[2] It may escape cultivation and grow as a casual roadside weed.

This is an annual herb producing a hairy, climbing stem supported by the tendrils on its leaf-tips.

The leaves are each made up of 10 to 20 oval or oblong leaflets measuring up to 2.5 centimeters in length.

The flower corolla is yellow or purple-marked and the back of the banner (the large top petal) is coated in soft hairs.