Corydalis schelesnowiana Illustration Credit: Azmat

Short perennial herbs, 15-25 cm tall, glabrous, glaucous, with thickish leaves. Radical and lower cauline leaves 3-4-jugate (3-4 pairs of lateral pinnae and a terminal one); upper cauline leaves often trisect; segments (pinnae) tripartite or trilobed; lobes obovate-cuneate, entire or 2-3 denticulate above. Racemes terminating the branches; bracts lanceolate-subulate, much shorter than the pedicel, 1-1.5 mm long. Flowers small, 5-10 mm long, yellow or golden yellow, including spur about half as long as the lamina of upper petal or c 1/3 as long as the flower, very similar to the above species. Sepals minute, c. 1 mm. long, ovate, almost entire. Upper petal hooded at apex and obscurely mucronate; pedicel 1-3 (-5) mm. long in fruit. Ovary and capsule like the above species.

Fl. Per.: June-Aug.

Type: Turkestan, Basmandinski, 3000-7500 ft., O. Fedtschenko (LE).

Distribution: C. Asia (Turkestan) and Pakistan.

Doubtfully distinct from Corydalis flabellate Edgew. or Corydalis adiantifolia Hook. f. & Thoms., the former with lacerate sepals and the latter with long denticulate to subentire sepals, and the former with short bracts (shorter than pedicel) and latter with longer bracts (as long or slightly longer than pedicel). Adequate material is needed to study bract and sepal variations in this complex.