紫距淫羊藿 zi ju yin yang huo

Herbs, ca. 15 cm tall. Rhizome long creeping, slender, 2-3 mm in diam. Leaves basal and cauline, trifoliolate; leaflets adaxially deep green, ovate, 4-5 × 2-3 cm, abaxially glaucous, with sparse minute prostrate hairs, adaxially glabrous, base shallowly cordate with lobes separated by a moderately broad sinus, those of terminal leaflet rounded, lateral leaflets with smaller lobe rounded and larger lobe acute, margin closely spinulose-subserrulate, apex acuminate. Flowering stem with 2 opposite leaves or only 1 leaf. Inflorescence simple, racemose, 6-15-flowered, ca. 6 cm or longer; bracts entire. Pedicel ca. 3 cm, glabrous. Flowers large, ca. 3 cm in diam. Outer sepals caducous, greenish, suborbicular, 2.5-3.5 mm; inner sepals white, ovate, ca. 13 × 9 mm, apex acute. Petals pale purple, slightly longer than inner sepals; spur basally deeper purple, slightly curved, subulate, elongated, 1.5-1.6 cm, basally expanded to 5 mm high. Stamens enclosed, ca. 4 mm; filaments ca. 0.5 mm. Pistil ca. 4.2 mm; style ca. 3 mm. Fruit unknown. Fl. Apr, fr. unknown.

● Forest margins, shaded places by streamsides; 400-1000 m. Hunan (Tianping Shan).