Herbs, perennial, (10-)15-20 cm tall (to 50 cm in shade forms); stems and petioles of radical leaves tapering to thin underground base. Storage roots densely fascicled, rounded to ellipsoid, 7-15 × 4-5 mm, attenuate to indistinct stalk. Stems simple, with 2(or 3) leaves in middle part. Radical leaves: peti-ole 3-7 cm (including underground part); blade strongly glaucous abaxially, 1-1.5 × 1.5-2.5 cm, biternate; pinnae shortly stalked; pinnules subsessile, broadly obovate, entire, obtuse, obscurely mucronulate. Cauline leaves sessile, 2-4 × 2-3 cm, slightly thick, deeply biternatisect, with narrowly oblanceolate subacute lobes. Racemes very lax, 8-15(-20) cm at late anthesis, 5-13(-17)-flowered; lower bracts 10-20 mm, like upper leaf with up to 7 lobes; upper bracts progressively smaller, 6-10 mm, 2-or 3-fid; lobes lanceolate, subacute. Pedicels straight, lower ones 20-30 mm in flower, elongating to 30-45 mm in fruit, erect except for apical hook; upper pedicels shorter. Sepals ca. 0.2 mm. Corolla brilliant blue; outer petals not crested, rhombic, subobtuse; upper petal 13-16 mm; spur straight, cylindric or slightly tapering, 6-8 mm; nectary ca. 1/2 as long as spur, very thin; lower petal with rhombic subobtuse limb, short indistinct claw and minute gibbosity at base; inner petals 6-7 mm, dorsal crest low, not protruding beyond apex. Stigma broader than long, apically emarginate; marginal papillae: median 2 distinct, lateral diffuse; geminate papillae on triangular basal lobes and lateral, but obviously not marginal. Fruit oblanceolate, 10-14 × ca. 3 mm, 9-15-seeded; style ca. 2.5 mm. Seeds in 2 rows, ca. 1.5 mm, smooth. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.
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