Herbs, perennial, (pale) green or glaucous, 10-38 cm tall, glabrous to papillose-scabrid on abaxial leaf veins; stems and petioles of radical leaves attenuate to filiform underground base. Storage roots oblong, 1-3 cm × 3-4 mm, sharply set off from thin simple or rarely branched stalk 2-8 cm. Stems 1 to several, erect and simple to decumbent and branched, with 2-5 leaves. Radical leaves few, some conspicuously enlarging after flowering; petiole 5-15 cm (or longer in shade); blade broadly ovate, 2-5 cm, with raised parallel veins abaxially, biternatisect to biternate; lobules narrowly obovate to lanceolate, slightly 2-or 3-divided, acute. Cauline leaves sessile or with short flat petiole; blade broadly ovate, lower one 3-5 × ca. 4 cm, upper ones smaller, grading into lowermost bracts, pinnatifid (i.e., not cut quite to midvein) with inner lobes again 2-or 3-cleft, or biternatisect; ultimate lobes narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, 1-2 × 0.2-0.4 cm. Raceme 4-13 cm, 10-24-flowered; lower bracts almost like uppermost cauline leaves; middle bracts deeply flabellate to pinnately divided, lobes lanceolate-acuminate; upper bracts usually narrowly lanceolate, entire. Pedicel 8-15(-20) mm, rather stout, arcuately reflexed in fruit. Sepals 0.5-1 × 0.5-1 mm, finely dentate. Corolla yellow, with darker veins, often with brownish purple marks on dorsal keel of inner petals; upper petal navicular-ovate, 14-18 mm, apex subacute, abaxial crest 1.5-2 mm wide, tapering to both ends, long decurrent on spur; spur straight or slightly downcurved at tip, subcylindric, 6-8 mm, slightly narrowed at apex; nectary 1/2-2/3 as long as spur; lower petal broadly obovate with indistinct claw, margin slightly undulate; inner petals 7-9 mm. Stigma square; median 2 apical papillae distinct, lateral marginal papillae broad and diffuse; geminate papillae submarginal and on pronounced basal lobes. Capsule obovoid, 7-10 × 3-4 mm, 2-8-seeded; style 3.5-4 mm. Seeds ca. 1.5 mm. Fl. Jun-Sep, fr. Jun (Aug-Sep).
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