Herbs, perennial, glaucous, (10-)15-30(-40) cm tall, papillose-scabrid on veins and bract margins. Rootstock long, 1(-2) cm in diam. at apex, often branched, crowned with residual petiolar bases. Stems 2-4, from radical leaf axils, ridged, simple or sparingly branched, 2(-4)-leaved. Radical leaves ca. 2/3 as long as stems; petiole ca. as long as blade, long vaginate; blade oblong, sub-bipinnate with 3 or 4 pairs of pinnae; pinnae stalked to sessile, subpinnate to ternate with leaflets deeply cut into obovate to oblanceolate, acuminate, not or only slightly overlapping lobes, 4-18 × 2-5 mm. Lower cauline leaves subopposite, like radical leaves; upper smaller and less divided. Racemes 3-7 cm, 10-30-flowered, very dense at first, considerably elongating in fruit; bracts longer than pedicels, lower ones often pinnatilobate, middle and upper ones entire, elliptic to lanceolate, 10-20 mm, acute to acuminate. Pedicel 6-16 mm, sharply recurved in fruit. Sepals whitish, small, fimbriate-dentate. Flowers bright yellow, at first suberect, soon slightly nodding. Outer petals: crest high, much extended beyond apex; upper petal 19-22 mm, acute; spur broad, slightly tapering to obtuse tip, 8-10 mm; nectary extended through ca. 1/2 of spur; lower petal base ± shallowly saccate; inner petals 9-10 mm. Stigma square, with confluent apical papillae, geminate papillae lateral and on pronounced basal lobes. Capsule narrowly obovoid, ca. 10 × 3 mm. Seeds in 2 rows, reniform, smooth. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.
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