Herbs, biennial, 20-50 cm tall, glabrous. Stems erect, ridged, branched. Petiole 3-5 cm, long vaginate; blade glaucous abaxially, triangular-ovate, biternate to triternate or bipinnate; primary segments petiolulate; ultimate leaflets ± 2-or 3-divided; lobes lanceolate to oblanceolate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronate. Racemes 7-10-flowered, subsecund; lower bracts ovate-lanceolate, shortly acuminate, upper bracts subulate, 4-8 mm, entire or slightly dentate. Pedicel 3-7 mm, bent after flowering. Sepals orbicular, 1-1.5 mm, margin lacerate. Petals white or yellow, often with purplish suffusion; outer petals often sinuate-dentate, with a broad or narrow crest reaching beyond apex; spur of upper petal upwardly directed, triangular-obtuse, 3-4 mm, with nectary reaching ca. 1/2 way; inner petals 4-5 mm; lower petal basally clearly saccate. Stigma with 4 stalked apical papillae and shallow median sinus. Capsule obovoid, 8-10 × 3-4 mm, with a sharply set off style ca. 2 mm, 3-8-seeded. Seeds 1.5-1.8 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.
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