Herbs, 15-40 cm tall, (short-lived) perennial, flowering second year (rarely annual?). Rhizome short, firm, with lax leaf rosette at apex. Stems 1 to few, erect to ascending, with 3-5 leaves, branched especially above; uppermost branch continuing lead of main shoot, i.e., terminal raceme eventually pseudolateral. Rosette leaves: petiole 7-12 cm, vaginate at base; blade glaucous abaxially, green or glaucous adaxially, ovate, 3-7 × 2-5 cm, biternate with terminal pinna larger; ultimate leaflets subsessile, deeply 4-7-divided; lobules broadly obovate to oblanceolate, apex rounded-obtuse, mucronate. Cauline leaves similar, but upper ones smaller with shorter petioles. Racemes 3-6 cm (to 9 cm in fruit), 5-13-flowered; bracts obovate, deeply 3-7-divided; uppermost bracts oblanceolate, 4-6 mm, entire. Pedicel 5-7 mm, slender, slightly arcuate in fruit. Sepals rounded, 0.5-1 mm, dentate. Corolla pale bluish purple to reddish purple, slightly darker at apex; outer petals spreading, shortly acuminate, with slightly dentate short crest 0.5-1 mm wide; upper petal 23-28 mm; spur straight or often arcuately downcurved, tapering to fine tip, 10-15 mm; nectary 1/3-2/5 as long as spur; lower petal with long narrow claw; inner petals 10-12 mm, claw slightly longer than limb. Stigma with (8-)10 marginal papillae; geminate papillae lateral and on basal lobes. Capsule linear, 20-25 × ca. 1.5 mm, 14-30-seeded; style ca. 3 mm. Seeds in 1 row, ca. 1 mm, smooth, sharply keeled; caruncle small. Fl. and fr. Mar-Aug.
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