Herbs, 7-20 cm tall (to 50 cm in extreme shade forms), glabrous to densely papillose-scabrid; stems and petioles of radical leaves attenuate to filiform underground base. Storage roots fascicled, oblong, 5-15 × 3-4 mm, sharply set off by long thin stalks 1-7 cm. Stems 1-4, erect, slender to robust, simple, with 2 or 3 leaves in upper 1/2. Radical leaves few; petiole (2-)4-7(-13) cm; blade orbicular to reniform, sub-biternate to biternatisect into 5-10 obovate to oblong obtuse lobes 5-18 × 2-8 mm. Cauline leaves sessile; blade glaucous abaxially, palmatisect to base into linear to narrowly oblanceolate lobes 10-40 × 1-6 mm. Raceme 2.5-10 cm, densely 6-18-flowered; lower bracts cut to base into 3-5 linear-oblong to lanceolate lobes, upper bracts entire, very rarely all entire. Pedicel 5-10 mm, elongating to 10-15 mm in fruit. Sepals minute. Corolla clear light blue; outer petals obtuse, often mucronate, slightly dentate, with dorsal crest 0.5-1(-1.5) mm, shortly decurrent on spur, slightly overtopping apex; upper petal 13-15 mm; spur upwardly reflexed, cylindric, 6-7 mm, thick; nectary 1/2(-2/3) as long as spur; lower petal broadly obovate, 8-11 mm, apex rounded, mucronate, abaxial crest short; inner petals 7-9 mm; dorsal crests rounded, clearly overtopping apex. Stigma shallowly bifid with 6 marginal simple papillae and geminate papillae in basal corners. Capsule reflexed from erect pedicel, oblong to elliptic, 12-18 × ca. 3 mm, 5-12-seeded; style ca. 2.5 mm. Seeds smooth. Fl. and fr. May-Aug.
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