Glycine formosana Hosokawa; G. gracilis Skvortsov var. nigra Skvortsov; G. max (Linnaeus) Merrill subsp. formosana (Hosokawa) Tateishi & H. Ohashi; G. max subsp. soja (Siebold & Zuccarini) H. Ohashi; G. soja var. albiflora P. Y. Fu & Y. A. Chen; G. soja f. angustifolia P. Y. Fu & Y. A. Chen; G. soja subsp. formosana (Hosokawa) W. Liu & X. Y. Zhu; G. soja f. lanceolata (Skvortsov) P. Y. Fu & Y. A. Chen; G. soja var. lanceolata Skvortsov; G. soja f. linearifolia L. Z. Wang; G. soja f. maximowiczii (Enken) L. Z. Wang; G. soja var. maximowiczii Enken; G. soja f. nigra (Skvortsov) X. Y. Zhu & W. Liu; G. soja f. ovata (Skvortsov) L. Z. Wang; G. soja var. ovata Skvortsov; G. ussuriensis Regel & Maack; G. ussuriensis var. angustata Komarov; G. ussuriensis var. brevifolia Komarov & Alissova-Klobukova; Rhynchosia argyi H. Léveillé.

Herbs annual, 1-4 m. Stems slender, twining, hirsute. Leaves pinnately 3-foliolate, to 14 cm; stipules ovate-lanceo­late, 1-2 mm, acute, densely yellow villous; petiole 1.5-3.5 cm, densely pubescent; stipels linear, ca. 1 mm; terminal leaflet ovate-circular to ovate-lanceolate, 3.5-6 × 1.5-2.5 cm, both surfaces silky strigose, base subrounded, margin entire, apex acute to obtusely rounded; lateral leaflets obliquely ovate-lan­ceolate. Raceme usually short, rarely up to 13 cm; peduncle 0.3-0.8 cm, densely hirsute; bracts lanceolate; flowers densely arranged on upper part of inflorescences. Flowers ca. 5 mm. Calyx campanulate, densely long hairy; lobes 5, triangular-lan­ceolate, apex acute. Corolla reddish purple or white; standard suborbicular, base with short claw, apex slightly emarginate; wings obliquely obovate, with obvious auricles; keels shorter than standard and wings, densely hairy. Style short and inclined to one side. Legume oblong, slightly curved and compressed, constricted between seeds, 17-23 × 4-5 mm, densely hirsute, dehiscent when dry. Seeds 2 or 3, brown to black, elliptic, slightly compressed, 2.5-4 × 1.8-2.5 mm. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 40.

Plants from Henan with cleistogamous flowers 2.5-3(-3.5) mm with only (2 or)3 or 4(or 5) fertile stamens have recently been described as Glycine soja var. cleistogama C. S. Zhu & S. X. Zhu (J. Wuhan Bot. Res. 26: 361. 2008).

Glycine soja is protected in China because of its importance as the wild progenitor of G. max and thus its potential for further plant breeding. It is used as a food and fodder plant.

Fields, valleys, beaches, marshes, seashores, islands, ?cultivated; near sea level to 2700 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, Russia].