露点紫堇 lu dian zi jin

Herbs, perennial, 13-30 cm tall, glabrous below, densely papillose-pubescent on inflorescence; stems and petioles of radical leaves attenuate to base. Rhizome thin, to 3 cm. Storage roots narrowly spindle-shaped, 2-5 cm × 1-2 mm. Stems 1-3, erect, simple or often with late branches, with 2 or 3 leaves in upper 1/2. Radical leaves 4-6; petiole 4-7 cm; blade abaxially pale green, adaxially green, broadly ovate, 2-3 × 2-4 cm, biternate; pinnae shortly petiolulate; pinnules sessile, deeply to slightly lobed into 2-4 obovate lobes. Cauline leaves 1-3, nearly sessile; blade 1-3 × 1-3 cm, bi- to triternatisect; lobes acute. Racemes 7-9 cm, 15-25(-35)-flowered; bracts 4-10 mm, deeply palmatisect into 5-10 narrowly lanceolate pointed lobes; lowermost bract sometimes like uppermost leaf (to 3 cm). Pedicel 4-7 mm, to 10 mm in fruit, erect. Sepals pink, suborbicular, fimbriate-dentate, 2-2.5 × 2-2.5 mm. Corolla sky blue, keel of outer petals with pinkish purple suffusion; outer petals broadly obtuse, ± dentate, shortly mucronate; crest short, 0.5-1.5(-2) mm wide, entire or often dentate; upper petal 12-14 mm; spur downcurved at apex, cylindric, 5-6 mm; nectary ca. 2/5 as long as spur; lower petal 6-8 mm, claw oblong, distal 1/2 obovate, obtuse, dentate, shortly mucronate; inner petals 6-7 mm. Stigma broadly rectangular, emarginate, with 4 marginal apical papillae; geminate papillae on basal lobes, sometimes also lateral. Capsule (immature) reflexed from erect pedicel, narrowly elliptic, densely papillose; ovules 8-12; style ca. 2.5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Aug.

● Among shrubs, meadow slopes, forest margins, ravines on hillsides; 3000-3600 m. Sichuan (Dêgê).

This species is odd in the section because of its thicker roots and thin stem bases.