掌苞紫堇 zhang bao zi jin

Herbs, perennial, 30-60 cm tall, glabrous. Rhizome apically with large bulb formed by very fleshy petiolar bases, 15-25 × 15-20 mm. Stems axillary from last year’s bulb scales, erect, often branched, with 0-3 scattered leaves. Rosette leaves conspicuous (earliest formed leaves much smaller and early withering); petiole 5-15 cm, base with broadly ovate black-purple sheath; blade broadly orbicular-triangular, 5-7 × 6-10 cm, (bi-)triternate; pinnae 2.5-5 × 2.5-5 cm; petiolules 1-4 cm; leaflets broadly ovate, crenate-dentate, or sometimes deeply divided into narrowly oblong lobes. Lower cauline leaf like radical leaves, upper leaves smaller and less divided, shortly petiolulate. Racemes first dense, becoming lax, 8-15-flowered; bracts broadly ovate, 10-16 mm, pectinate-dentate, lowermost bract often more divided, uppermost entire, often with purplish tinge. Pedicel straight, 13-20 mm. Sepals late caducous, 1-2 × 1-2 mm, dentate. Flowers soon nodding, dull purple, rarely white; inner petals whitish; outer petals acute to shortly acuminate, without dorsal crest; upper petal 25-30 mm; spur straight or slightly upturned at base, downcurved apically, conical, ca. 15 mm; nectary ca. 3/5 as long as spur; lower petal broadly and shallowly saccate in middle part, base suddenly constricted into short claw, distal 1/3 navicular, acute; inner petals 11-14 mm. Stigma square, marginal papillae 4-6, median papillae distinct, lateral papillae more diffuse; geminate papillae lateral and on basal lobes. Capsule pendent from erect pedicel, narrowly obovoid, 10-12 × ca. 3 mm, explosively dehiscent, 15-18-seeded; style ca. 3 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.

● Forest understories, among bushes; 2500-3700 m. N, NW, and WC Sichuan.

Plants from Gongga Shan have more deeply divided leaves and bracts and larger flowers than those from further north.