Herbs, 20-50 cm tall, glabrous. Rhizome short (sometimes stoloniferous?). Stems 2-5, with up to 13 alternate leaves in upper 1/2-2/3, simple or with a branch from lowermost leaf axil; uppermost leaf axil with a lateral branch seemingly continuing growth of main stem. Basal rosette lax; petiole only slightly swollen at base, 5-15 cm; blade pruinose abaxially, green adaxially, triangular, 2-5 × 3-5 cm, biternate; leaflets shortly stalked, entire to deeply cleft into 2 or 3 ovate lobes, large crenate-dentate. Cauline leaves like basal leaves but shorter stalked, becoming gradually smaller upward, each carrying an easily detached bulbil in its axil; blade ternate to biternate, terminal divisions larger than lateral, rarely uppermost leaf simple. Raceme densely 5-20-flowered; lower bracts ovate or obovate, apex irregularly shallowly rounded-divided, upper ones obovate to oblanceolate, sometimes with small pale auricles at base. Pedicel 5-14 mm, very thin. Sepals caducous. Corolla purple or white, apex purple; outer petals rhombic, subacute, shortly mucronate, with short crests reaching apex; upper petal 22-25 mm; spur straight or slightly bent, 11-13 mm, slightly tapering to obtuse apex; nectary ca. 1/3 as long as spur; lower petal with long narrow claw; inner petals 11-12 mm, claw longer than limb. Stigma with 10 marginal papillae and prominent submarginal geminate papillae. Capsule linear, subtorulose, 19-23 × ca. 1.5 mm, 10-18-seeded; style ca. 5 mm. Seeds 1.2-1.5 mm, with scattered tubercles throughout. Fl. and fr. Mar-Apr.
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