They are shrubby, meaning they have woody stems and their buds are above the ground, but they can bud from ground level if plants are burned or grazed. Flowers are born on several terminal spikes. An individual spike may contain 50 to 100 flowers. The massing of so many small flowers and the contrast of the single purple petal and yellow stamens of each flower can only be appreciated at close range but it is one of the great joys of viewing this plant. When pollinated each flower produces a single seed, borne in a small, gray hairy pod.
Seeds require both a cold period and heat to germinate.
Heat can be provided by pouring boiling water over the seeds and then allowing the water to cool. As a legume, lead plant is a host to nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots. The bacteria provide the plant with nitrogen in exchange for sugars that the plant produces through photosynthesis. These bacteria are available as inoculum from most native-seed suppliers. Intensive grazing will reduce the abundance of lead plant, and it does not tolerate cultivation.