Herbs, perennial, 30-70 cm tall. Rootstock 5-20 × 1-2.5 cm, apex with remnants of vaginate petiolar bases. Stems erect, 3-6 mm in diam., naked below, leafy and sparingly branched in upper 1/2 or 1/3. Radical leaves few, ca. 2/3 as long as stem; petiole 15-22 cm; blade glaucous abaxially, green adaxially, triangular, ca. 20 × 20 cm, thin, bi-to tripinnate; primary leaflets alternate, long petiolulate; ultimate pinnae sessile, ovate to oblong, 1-3 × 1-2 cm, coarsely serrate. Cauline leaves 2-4, like radical leaves but shortly stalked to sessile, and rapidly decreasing in size upward. Racemes 10-15-flowered, 4-10 cm, rather dense, often branched below; bracts linear, 2-5(-10) × 0.5-1 mm, acute. Pedicel erect, straight, 4-7(-10) mm, thin. Sepals early falling, broadly ovate, 4-5 × ca. 3 mm, entire, mucronate. Flowers nodding, pale purple to bluish purple, often paler toward apex, limb of outer petals usually with narrow reddish purple margin. Outer petals narrow without spreading margins; spur straight or upcurved, 15-20 mm, narrower toward tip, upwardly directed; nectary extending almost to end of spur; lower petal navicular; inner petals 8-10 mm, narrowly crested, claw ca. as long as limb. Stigma with 7-10 papillae, 2 central apical papillae confluent. Capsule narrowly obovoid, with broad placentas, 12-15 × 3-4 mm, 5-10-seeded. Seeds in 1 or 2 rows. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. May-Aug.
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