Herbs, perennial, 10-45 cm tall, very glaucous. Rootstock stout, thick at apex, branched or not, apex with very dense residual petiolar bases with persistent fibrous veins. Stems simple or branched above, or with axillary inflorescences above, lowest leaves at middle of stem, subopposite. Radical leaves long petiolate; petiole to 10 cm, broadly vaginate at base; blade ovate, 10-18 × 6-12 cm, finely tripinnate with 5-8(-10) pairs of pinnae; secondary leaflets 1 or 2 pairs per pinna, ca. 2 × 1 cm; ultimate lobes linear to lanceolate, 3-10 × 0.3-1.5 mm. Cauline leaves shortly petiolate, ca. 5 × 2 cm, bipinnate. Racemes corymbose, 3-5 cm, very broad and dense, 15-20(-35)-flowered, elongated at fruiting; bracts oblong to flabellate, equal to pedicels or slightly shorter, pinnately to pectinately deeply divided into linear segments. Pedicel erect-spreading, 1-2 cm, at fruiting 2-4 cm and hooked at apex. Sepals 1-3 × 1-2.5 mm, finely dentate to deeply divided. Corolla very broad in profile, somewhat spongy, yellow to orange, base of corolla often brownish to purplish brown; apical keels (excluding crests) of outer petals greenish; inner petals darker at tip, but dorsal crests usually pale; wholly pink flowered forms occuring (although not reported from China?); outer petals subacute, broadly crested; crest often surpassing apex; upper petal 13-18 mm, crest narrowly decurrent on spur; spur short, 3(-4) mm, very broad; nectary ca. 1/2 as long as spur, thick; lower petal broadly and shallowly saccate at base; apical 1/2 usually sharply reflexed, with short broad crest; inner petals 9-13 mm; dorsal crests low, slightly overtopping apex. Stigma square, apex broadly and shallowly emarginate; marginal papillae broad and diffuse; sublateral geminate papillae present; base with papillate lobes. Capsule nutant, elliptic, 7-10(-12) × 3-4 mm, 4-6-seeded; style 3-4 mm. Seeds 1.2-1.5 mm, smooth. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.
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