Crotalaria capensis, the eared rattle-pod, sometimes grows to a small tree (SA Tree No. 225.12), reaching a height of 3 m. The trifoliolate leaflets are obovate or elliptic, green above, blue-green below and thinly textured. Leaflets may be hairy and sometimes taper to a tiny bristle-tip. The pea-shaped flowers are yellow, sometimes marked with red. The keel petal is distinctly beaked. Flowering occurs in spring and summer. The pods are cylindrical and inflated (Coates Palgrave, 2002).