Herbs, perennial, 30-75(-100) cm tall. Roots many, linear, to 9 cm, stout, 2-3 mm in diam. from a short rhizome. Stems erect, sharply ridged, much branched in upper 1/2. Radical leaves early withering, but petiolar bases long persistent; petiole 15-25 cm; blade triangular, 10-14 × 8-14 cm, bipinnate with 3 or 4 pinnae and 2 pinnules; leaflets pinnatifid into lanceolate acute lobes. Cauline leaves several; lower with petiole to 12 cm; upper shortly stalked to subsessile with broad auriculate bases; blade glaucous, often with anthocyan tint, triangular, triternate with leaflets deeply dissected into lanceolate to linear lobes; uppermost leaves much smaller. Racemes many from axils of upper leaves, densely 15-30-flowered, not secund; bracts linear, ca. 10 mm, lowermost sometimes larger and slightly divided. Pedicel 5-10 mm, slender, slightly elongating and recurved in fruit. Sepals ovate, ca. 2 mm, finely dentate. Corolla yellow; inner petals with brownish purple apex; outer petals with ca. 3 mm wide crests clearly overtopping apex, margin with subapical auriculate lobes; upper petal 20-25 mm, crest apically broad, narrowed and decurrent on spur; spur slightly upwardly directed, cylindric, 10-11 mm; nectary conspicuous, ca. 1/2 as long as spur; inner petals (7-)9-10 mm. Stigma squarish, with 4 low apical papillae, geminate lateral papillae and conspicuous geminate papillae set on triangular basal lobes. Capsule oblong, 10-12 × ca. 2 mm, with minutely papillose ridges, 3-5-seeded, style ca. 4 mm. Seeds ca. 2 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.
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