康定紫堇 kang ding zi jin

Corydalis elata Bureau & Franchet subsp. ecristata C. Y. Wu.

Herbs, perennial, 35-60 cm tall, glabrous. Rhizome short (rarely with stolons?), with fleshy scales that become dark on drying, terminating in a small rosette of leaves. Stems 1-4, erect, with erect branches, with 2 or 3 leaves from middle upward. Radical leaves long persistent, long stalked; petiole 10-22 cm; blade glaucous abaxially, green adaxially, 4-7 × 5-10 cm, ternate to biternate with leaflets shallowly to deeply divided into obovate entire to divided lobes; ultimate lobes (1-)2-15 mm wide, obtuse; cauline leaves smaller, shortly stalked, less divided. Racemes 10-32-flowered (much less in late axillary racemes); bracts 6-11(-15) mm; upper linear to narrowly oblanceolate, entire to slightly dentate; lowermost usually larger and divided, or even similar to uppermost leaf. Pedicel thin, suberect in fruit, 10-20(-30) mm. Sepals narrowly ovate, 0.5-2 × 0.5-1 mm, subentire to much dentate at base, acute. Corolla pale blue to sky blue with whitish marks; dorsal crests of inner petals clear blue in apical part but white at very tip, adaxially with dark purple blotch. Outer petals ecristate; upper petal 17-21 mm; spur straight or slightly downcurved, 8-12 mm, slender, slightly tapering; nectary 1/2-2/3 as long as spur, very thin; lower petal ca. 12 mm, with broadly rhombic, slightly acuminate, obtusely dentate limb attenuate to shallowly gibbous claw; inner petals 10-11 mm. Stigma square, narrowly emarginate with 4-6 marginal simple papillae; geminate papillae lateral (submarginal) and on basal lobes. Capsule pendent from erect-spreading pedicel, obovoid to elliptic, 9-11 × 3-4 mm, 2-8-seeded; style 4-5 mm. Seeds ca. 2 mm, smooth, with prominent uneven elaiosome. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

● Slopes in shade of shrubs close to running water; 3100-4100 m. Sichuan (W of Kangding).

This species is very similar to Corydalis elata but differs by its spur tapering, nectary very thin, dorsal crest absent, and racemes more lax.