Herbs, perennial, (10-)20-40(-60) cm tall, glabrous or papillose-hairy on inflorescence, sometimes also on capsules. Rhizome with short firm swollen body, crowned by leaf rosette with thick, fleshy, petiolar bases, sending out simple or branched underground stolons 3-15 cm × 2-3 mm, apically and in axils of scales swelling into tubers, similar to those of Helianthus tuberosus (tubers rarely collected in herbarium specimens). Stems 1-4, erect to ascending, green or reddish, sparsely branched above, with 2-4 leaves. Radical leaves several; petiole 5-10 cm; blade glaucous abaxially, green adaxially (or glaucous at center of leaflets), triangular-ovate, 5-13 × 3-10 cm, bi-(tri-)pinnate; pinnae shortly petiolulate, ovate; pinnules sessile, ovate, entire or deeply divided, crenate-dentate, base broadly cuneate. Cauline leaves like radical leaves; petiolar base with small whitish membranous auricles, sometimes with large dark pointed bulbils (Corydalis sheareri f. bulbillifera Handel-Mazzetti) in axils. Racemes 4-10 cm, (5-)10-15(-20)-flowered, at first dense, soon elongating, subsecund; lower bracts rounded, deeply 3-5-divided; middle bracts obovate, slightly 3-divided; upper bracts narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, entire. Pedicels usually longer than bracts, 4-7 mm, to 12 mm and slightly arcuate in fruit. Sepals nearly orbicular, ca. 1 mm, deeply dentate. Corolla pale amaranth to pale blue, apex of inner petals dark purple; limb of outer petals rhombic, subacute, with short, entire to finely erose-dentate crest; upper petal 22-28 mm, spur straight or gracefully recurved at apex, conical, 12-18 mm, apex thin; nectary extended through ca. 2/5 of spur; lower petal with long narrow claw and short rhombic limb; inner petals 11-15 mm, claw longer than limb. Stigma with 8-10 marginal papillae; geminate papillae lateral and on basal lobes. Capsule linear, 15-30 × 1.5-2 mm, 10-25-seeded; style ca. 3 mm. Seeds in 1 or almost 2 rows, 1-1.3 mm, with scattered tubercles all over; elaiosome large, flat. Fl. and fr. Mar-Jun.
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