小籽紫堇 xiao zi zi jin

Type: China. Yunnan: Lushui Xian, Pianma Xiang, waterfall in the vicinity of Ganhe, ca. 12 km N of Pianma on the road to Gangfang, W side of Gaoligong Shan, 26°03′43″N, 98°37′09″E, SW-facing disturbed forest slope on limestone, alt. 2057 m, 13 May 2005, Gaoligong Shan Biodiversity Survey (GSBS) 24094 (holotype, KUN; isotypes, CAS, UPS).

Corydalis leptocarpae similis, sed ab ea seminibus minutis numerosis differt.

Paratypes: GSBS 22772 (CAS, KUN, UPS), GSBS 22820 (CAS, KUN, UPS), GSBS 24036 (CAS, KUN, UPS).

Herbs, perennial, 15-50 cm tall. Rhizome short, tight, knotty, with prominent persistent taproot at base, apically with 1(to few) sterile leaf rosettes. Stems 1-5 from axils of previous year’s rosette leaves, suberect to ascending, ridged, leafy and branched. Rosette leaves: petiole 5-20 cm, vaginate at base; blade adaxially green, ovate, 3-8 × 2-7 cm, abaxially pruinose, glabrous or finely papillose, biternate (to pinnate with ternate basal leaflets), pinnae petiolulate; leaflets ± deeply divided into few broadly obovate obtuse lobes. Cauline leaves: petiole 4-10 cm; blade like rosette leaves; lower leaves smaller. Racemes 3-5-flowered, elongating to 5-8 cm in fruit; bracts obovate, 5-15 × 2-10 mm, entire or lower ones deeply 3-7 palmately divided, upper ones often oblanceolate. Pedicel 5-10 mm, in fruit elongating to 10-25 mm. Sepals ca. 1 × 1 mm, sharply dentate. Petals pale purple; outer petals narrowly and shortly crested, acute to shortly acuminate, limb slightly spreading, shallowly dentate to entire; upper petal 23-25 mm; spur straight, cylindric, 13-15 mm; nectary ca. 3.5 mm; lower petal 12-13 mm, with narrow base widened in front 1/3 to rounded shortly acuminate limb; inner petals 10-11 mm. Stigma with marginal papillae: median 2 apical distinct, lateral ones confluent; geminate papillae submarginal and on basal lobes. Capsule slightly arcuate, oblong, 20-24 × ca. 3 mm, 24-30-seeded; style proper ca. 2.5 mm, but fruit with seedless apical beak 1-3 mm; replum long persistent. Seeds 0.8-1 mm, smooth, not keeled. Fl. and fr. May-Aug.

● 1800-2200 m. W Yunnan (Gaoligong Shan).

Corydalis microsperma is similar to C. leptocarpa but is distinguished by the numerous very small seeds and rather different foliage.

The specific epithet refers to the small seeds, from Greek μικρός (micros, "small") and σπέρμα (sperma, "seed").