Fossil pollen from the middle and upper Eocene. Flowers small, but in showy inflorescences of heads, spikes or racemes. Stamens are often brightly colored and exerted far beyond the perianth. Fruit a legume or loment. Seeds with a hard coat and little or no endosperm.
Placentation is marginal.
A group of cells which dictate the orientation of the leaves termed a 'pulvinus' is located at the basal end of the petiole.