Colutea is a genus of about 25 species of deciduous flowering shrubs in the legume family Fabaceae, growing from 2–5 m tall, native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia. The leaves are pinnate and light green to glaucous grey-green. The flowers are yellow to orange, pea-shaped and produced in racemes throughout the summer. These are followed by the attractive inflated seed pods which change from pale green to red or copper in colour.