Herbs, perennial, 15-70 cm tall. Rootstock thickened toward apex, crowned with scales and residual petiolar bases. Stems ascending from axils of radical leaves, lower part without leaves, upper part often much branched with 4-8 leaves decreasing in size upward. Radical leaves few, ca. 1/2 as long as stems; petiole ca. as long as blade, vaginate at base; blade pale abaxially, green adaxially, bipinnate, primary leaflets 5 or 6 pairs; ultimate leaflets petiolulate to sessile, cuneate-ovate, 10-20 × 8-15 mm, 3-5-parted, lobes ovate, ± mucronate. Cauline leaves pinnate (to sub-bipinnate), shortly stalked or sessile. Racemes 10-20-flowered; bracts rhombic-ovate, 3-6 × 1-4 mm, often shortly stalked, entire to apically dentate, apex pointed, lowermost bracts sometimes larger and more divided. Pedicel 6-10 mm, at fruiting elongated to 15(-20) mm and ± arcuate. Sepals ovate, 1-2.5 mm, dentate, apex often shortly acuminate. Corolla amaranth or lavender; upper petal 18-23(-27) mm, crest narrow, entire, sometimes not obvious, rarely high and dentate (var. denticulatocristata); spur straight or slightly curved apically, cylindric, 8-13(-15) mm, obtuse; nectary extended through ca. 1/2 of spur; lower petal navicular, abaxially shallowly saccate near middle, contracted suddenly into short claw; inner petals pale yellowish, 9-12 mm, slightly longer than limb. Stigma compressed-orbicular, with 8 papillae, only basal pair geminate. Capsule oblong, 12-18 mm; style short, ca. 1.5 mm. Seeds in 1 row, orbicular, ca. 2.5 mm; caruncle covering to 1/3 of seeds. Fl. and fr. May-Aug.
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