Herbs, perennial, 20-50(-90?) cm tall, glabrous or finely papillose-pubescent in part. Rhizome short, stout, with terminal rosette with large fleshy petiolar bases forming bulblike structure, eventually fibrous; roots thin to rather thick. Stems 1-3, pale red to green, 5-ridged, simple or sparsely branched, leafy above. Basal leaves several; petiole (6-)10-20(-37) cm, base very broad and thick; blade gray-glaucous abaxially, green adaxially, deltoid, (4-)8-18 × (4-)7-15 cm, rather thin, biternate (rarely bipinnate), with terminal leaflets larger than lateral ones; primary leaflets long petiolulate, broadly ovate to deltoid; ultimate leaflets discrete, petiolulate or almost sessile, ovate or broadly ovate-triangular, entire to slightly lobed, base cuneate to truncate, apex subacute to shortly acuminate, margin crenate-dentate, teeth mucronulate. Cauline leaves 1-3(or 4), like radical leaves, but smaller. Racemes lax, 8-15-flowered; bracts ovate to obovate, 5-15 × 2-10 mm, base cuneate, large dentate. Pedicel 5-10 mm, elongating to 10-13 mm and slightly arcuate to spreading in fruit. Sepals 0.5-1 × ca. 1 mm, lacerate-lobate. Corolla pale amaranth to bluish pink to "royal blue"; upper petal 27-32 mm, limb rhombic-acute, margin spreading, usually with short and narrow abaxial crest; spur straight, conical, 13-17 mm; nectary 3-5 mm; lower petal 16-24 mm, with long narrow claw and short rhombic limb, abaxially shortly crested; inner petals 14-21 mm, claw ca. 2 × as long as limb; crest of inner petals pale, slightly overtopping apex. Stigma rounded, with 10 marginal papillae and usually a pair of submarginal lateral geminate papillae. Capsule straight, linear, almost moniliform, (20-)30-45 × 1.5-2 mm, 8-18-seeded; style 3-4 mm. Seeds 1-1.5 mm, smooth. Fl. and fr. Mar-Jun.
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