Erect, rigid, much branched, leafy perennial, 20-60 (-90) cm tall, glabrous, glaucous; rootstock thick, stout, slender, simple or branched. Radical leaves pinnate with (2-) 3-6 distant pairs of lateral pinnae and a terminal one, somewhat fleshy, glaucous, (5-) 10-20 cm long, stalked; pinnae 10-20 (-30) mm in diam., fan-shaped or obovate-suborbicular, cuneate below, sessile or subsessile, often 3-pinnuled or deeply lobed, each lobe similar, ± denticulate above; cauline leaves distant, similar, but gradually becoming smaller above. Racemes usually simple, terminal on branches, 5-10 (-15) cm long, somewhat dense but becoming lax later on or in fruit; bracts not exceeding the flower bud, short, about half as long as the pedicel in fruit, submembranous, subulate, lanceolate, or triangulate. Pedicel 2-3 mm long in fruit, down-curved. Flowers yellow, 12-18 mm long, including spur about 1/3 as long, slender, narrow but spur somewhat saccate or gibbous and downcurved at the base. Sepals c. 2 mm long, and about as broad, ovate-suborbicular, with hair-like projections or lacerate at margins, specially at base. Upper petal hooded or cucullate near the apex, acute often obscurely acuminate or minutely mucronate, margins slightly membranous, subentire; lower petal apex and margins ± similar. Capsule linear, 12-20 (-24) mm long, c. 2.5 mm broad, ± deflexed, glabrous, with a distinct mid-vein on the valves, 8-10 seeded; style 4-5 mm long, curved at the apex with broad stigma; seeds c. 2 mm in diam., sub-biseriate, shining black.

Fl. Per.: June-Aug.

Type: N. W. Himalaya: Kumaon, Edgeworth (K).

Distribution: N. W. Himalaya and Kashmir.

Easily distinguished by its tall, often much branched habit, fan-shaped leaflets, shorter pedicels and very lacerate sepals.