Herbs, perennial, 40-75 cm tall. Roots very numerous, fasciculate, black when dry, linear. Stems erect, few to several from a thick caudex, 3-5 mm thick at base, strongly ridged, branched in upper 1/2, with 3-6 leaves. Radical leaves early withering; petiole 5-15 cm, long vaginate at base; blade glaucous abaxially, less so adaxially, triangular, 6-12 × 7-12 cm, 3-4 × ternately divided; primary and secondary pinnae long petiolulate, ultimate leaflets shortly stalked or sessile, 5-13 × 4-9 mm, entire or irregularly deeply 2-5-divided; lobes obovate, apex mucronulate. Racemes 8-20-flowered, simple or rarely with a basal branch; bracts spatulate to oblanceolate, (5-)7-13 mm, entire. Pedicel 3-6 mm, elongating in fruit to 5-8 mm and strongly reflexed. Sepals ovate, 2-3 × ca. 2 mm, laciniate-dentate. Corolla yellow, fragrant; outer petals with broad obtuse crests reaching or overtopping apex; upper petal 14-15 mm; spur upcurved, sometimes slightly downcurved at very apex, slightly attenuate, 7-10 mm; nectary almost as long as spur, thickened at apex; inner petals 8-10 mm, claw slightly shorter than limb; dorsal crests rounded, clearly overtopping apex. Stigma narrowed at base, with basal lobes close to style, broader at apex, with narrow median sinus closely flanked by a long stipitate papilla on each side, lateral apical papillae broad and confluent. Fruit obovoid, 12-13 × 3-4 mm, ca. 10-seeded; style ca. 3 mm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Aug.
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