Herbs perennial, 5--10(--20) cm tall, drying black. Stems usually scapelike, woolly. Leaves mostly basal; petiole to 5 cm, pubescent; leaf blade linear-lanceolate to linear, 1.5--7 cm, abaxially sometimes pubescent along veins, adaxially usually glabrous, pinnatisect; segments 10--30 pairs, ovate to oblong, dentate. Stem leaves 1 or 2, similar to basal leaves but smaller. Inflorescences ca. 5(--10) cm; bracts linear-lanceolate to linear, ca. as long as to shorter than flowers, usually woolly. Calyx 0.9--1.2 cm; lobes 5, ± equal. Corolla yellow, with purple galea, occasionally lower lip purple-spotted, more than 2 cm; tube falcate apically, 1.2--1.6 cm, apex obtuse or ± acute; galea 0.7--1.4 cm, rounded in front; lower lip 5--7 mm X 0.7--1.4 cm, middle lobe rounded, smaller than lateral lobes. Anterior filament pair pubescent. Stigma included or slightly exserted. Capsule long ovoid to ovoid-lanceolate, to 1.8 cm X 7 mm. Fl. Jun--Sep, fr. Jul--Oct. 2n = 16.

Alpine meadows, pastures, damp limestone rocks, tundra, grassy slopes; 2600--5400 m. Gansu, Hebei, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan; C and N Europe, N North America]