Herbs, perennial, usually very glaucous, 8-20(-30) cm tall, glabrous; stems and petioles of radical leaves attenuate to filiform underground base. Storage roots spindle-shaped, 1-2 cm × 3-6 mm, not stalked. Stems 1(or 2), simple, stout (slender if shade-grown), with 2 usually closely set or sometimes even opposite leaves 4-8 cm below lowermost flower, sometimes with a third small leaf close to inflorescence. Radical leaves few; petiole 3-12 cm; blade 1-3 cm, with 3 or 5 broad leaflets. Cauline leaves: petiole 0.1-1.5 cm; blade gray-glaucous abaxially, darker adaxially, 2-5 × 2-6 cm, imparipinnate (or simply ternate in small specimens); pinnae 2 or 3 pairs, entire or deeply 2-or 3-divided into lanceolate to elliptic lobes, 1.5-3(-5) × 0.2-1 cm. Raceme to 8 cm, 2-14-flowered, lax; bracts lanceolate to rhombic or obovate, 5-15 × 2-9 mm, entire or with a few narrow (curved) teeth, rarely more divided. Pedicel (7-)10-25 mm, stout, often early arcuately recurved, and more so in fruit. Sepals 0.1-0.5 × 0.4-1 mm, dentate. Corolla yellow, with distinct dark veins, rarely with a dark line on dorsal crest of inner petals; upper petal 22-27 mm, limb spreading, abruptly acuminate to subobtuse apex, abaxial crest 1.5-3 mm wide, entire or rarely slightly dentate, reaching petal apex or slightly beyond, ± decurrent on spur, sometimes to tip; spur slightly downcurved at apex, slightly sigmoid, cylindric, 11-16 mm; nectary extended through (1/3-)1/2 of spur; lower petal 11-13 mm, limb often reflexed, crest like that of upper petal, but shorter, claw broadly and shallowly navicular-saccate; inner petals 9-11 mm. Capsule (immature) oblong, 7-13 × ca. 2 mm, 2-6-seeded; style ca. 3.5 mm. Seeds in 1 row. Fl. Jul-Aug.
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