Herbs, usually perennial, erect, decumbent or diffuse, glabrous, glaucous or subglabrous; rootstock rhizomatous, tuberous or bulbous. Leaves often with a radical whorl
and mostly with many cauline leaves, alternate or often cauline ones opposite, 1 - 3 pinnatisect or (1-) 2 - 3 (-4) ternatisect; basal and lower cauline leaves usually petiolate and sheathing at base. Inflorescence terminal, simple or branched racemes or sometimes condensed subumbellate, often elongating and becoming lax in fruit. Flowers bracteate, pedicellate, zygomorphic with upper petal usually spurred, mostly yellow or purplish, rarely pink, blue or bluish violet, or very rarely white. Sepals 2, small, scarious or white-membranous, caducous. Petals 4; outer pair dissimilar, with upper (posterior)
one spurred or gibbous at base or below and lower (anterior) one flat or concave at base,
smaller and more or less equalling lamina of upper petal, both often winged at back and expanded at margins; inner pair clawed, often cohering, narrower than and about
as long as lower petal. Stamens 6 in 2 bundles of 3 each; upper bundle with a basal tail-like nectariferous gland projecting into and adnate to petal spur; anthers dimorphous with midanthers of each bundle dithecous and lateral ones monothecous. Ovary
1-loculed, usually many-ovuled; style filiform with 2, often dilated stigmas, becoming
curved at tip. Capsules ovoid, oblong, elliptic or linear, dehiscing when ripe by somewhat
membranous tumid or inflated valves, falling apart and leaving seed-bearing placentae
attached to style; seeds suborbicular or reniform, sometimes arillate, usually shiny black.
Northern temperate regions, mostly Eurasian; about 300 species, 53 species in India.
Literature.
BRUCKNER, C. (1985) Zur Samenmorphologie in Cotydalis Vent. (Fumariaceae DC.). Gelditschia 13: 53 - 67. LIDEN, M. (1989) Corydalis (Papaveraceae: Fumarioideae) in Nepal. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Botany 18: 479 - 538, ff. 1 - 26. LONG, D.G. (1984) Notes relating to the flora of Bhutan IX. Notes R. Bot. Gard. Edinb. 42: 87 - 106. LUDLOW, F. & W. T. STERN (1975) New Himalayan and
Tibetan species of Corydalis. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Botany 5: 47 - 69, ff. 1 - 14, tt. 1 - 15.
Notes.
A very complex genus showing a high degree of variability. Species delimi-tation has always caused considerable hurdles for taxonomists. Only a comprehensive
worldwide revision with sufficient field observations in the entire range of the genus can
produce a satisfactory account.
Corydalis DC. in Lam. & DC., Fl. France ed. 3, 4: 637. 1805 has been conserved
against Medikus 1789 and Ventenant (1803).
KEY TO THE SPECIES
1a. Flowers with blue, pink or purple as main colour
|
2
|
b. Flowers with yellow or rarely orange or white as main colour
|
11
|
2a. Spur shorter than limb of upper petal
|
3
|
b. Spur equal to or longer than limb of upper petal
|
5
|
3a. Plants 50 - 130 cm high, stiff, erect; capsules linear, 20 - 30 mm long; racemes 8 - 20-flowered, overtop-ping leaves
|
25.
Corydalis flaccida
|
b. Plants less than 30 cm high, slender, flexuous; capsules obovoid, 6 - 10 mm long; racemes 2 - 10-flowered, not overtopping leaves
|
4
|
4a. Plants with greyish-purple hue; ultimate lobes of leaves obovate, obtuse; flowers spongy; spur 1.5 - 3 x 2-3.5 mm,broader than long
|
34.
Corydalis latiflora
|
b. Plants without greyish-purple hue; ultimate lobes of leaves narrow, acute; flowers not spongy; spur 4.5 - 8 x 2 - 3 mm,longer than broad
|
38.
Corydalis nana
|
5a. Cauline leaves 2 - 4 or more
|
6
|
b. Cauline leaves solitary or rarely 2 or absent
|
9
|
6a. Flowers 22 - 28 mm long; sepals minute, less than 0.5 mm long
|
7
|
b. Flowers 15 -
20 mm long; sepals larger, 1 -
2 mm long
|
8
|
7a. Plants decumbent, branched; roots fibrous; leaves biternate with crenately lobed segments; bracts 6 - 10 mm long, lower ones toothed; pedicels 5 - 8 mm long; upper petal distinctly crested; capsules linear, up to 35 mm long
|
35.
Corydalis leptocarpa
|
b. Plants erect, scarcely branched; roots tuberous; leaves triternate witb entire segments; bracts 3 -
6 mm
long, entire; pedicels 1 -
3 mm long; upper petal narrowly crested at apex; capsules ellipsoid, up to 15
mm long
|
16.
Corydalis dorjii
|
8a. Radical leaves absent; cauline leaves 2, usually opposite; pedicels ca 10 mm long; petals pink with purplish face
|
15.
Corydalis diphylla
|
b. Radical leaves present; cauline leaves 2 -
4, alternate, scattered; pedicels 3 -
5 mm long; petals blue
violet or white
|
2.
Corydalis alpestris
|
b. Radical leaves present; bracts divided
|
10
|
10a. Roots fibrous; cauline leaf on 5 - 10 mm long petioles; lip of lower petal boat-shaped
|
39.
Corydalis oligantha
|
11a. Cauline leaves 1 - 3, verticillate at apex of stem below inflorescence, simple, reniform or suborbicular, somewhat shortly dissected or dentate, fleshy
|
12.
Corydalis crassifolia
|
b. Cauline leaves not so, not fleshy
|
12
|
12a. Bracts all entire
|
13
|
b. Bracts at least some, dissected, dentate, laciniate, lobed or leafy
|
22
|
13a. Stems simple, unbranched
|
14
|
b. Stems usually branched
|
16
|
14a. Tuberous storage roots present; cauline leaves alternate, simple
|
31.
Corydalis juncea
|
b. Tuberous storage roots absent; cauline leaves opposite or subopposite, lobed or pinnate
|
15
|
15a. Cauline leaves 4, in 2 subopposite pairs; bracts 5 - 10 mm broad; flowers yellow without purplish tips
|
10.
Corydalis clarkei
|
b. Cauline leaves 0 -
2, opposite or subopposite; bracts 2 -
5 mm broad; flowers pale yellow with purplish
tips
|
14.
Corydalis crithmifolia
|
16a. Plants robust, stout, 50 - 130 cm high
|
17
|
b. Plants slender, up to 50 cm high
|
20
|
b. Capsules not undulate-tortuous
|
18
|
18a. Leaves simple pinnate with flabellate-reniform pinnae; spur saccate or gibbous; capsules pendulous, linear
|
24.
Corydalis flabellata
|
b. Leaves pinnate, bipinnate or tripinnate; pinnae not flabellate or reniform; spur long slender; capsules
erect, obovoid or narrowly oblanceolate
|
19
|
19a. Flowers pale or golden yellow with brownish veins; corolla including spur 16 - 20 mm long; spur 8 - 9 mm long; capsules ellipsoid-obovoid, ca 8 mm long, 2 - 5-seeded
|
8.
Corydalis chaerophylla
|
b. Flowers orange-brown; corolla including spur 20 - 25 mm long; spur 14 - 15 mm long; capsules narrowly oblanceolate, 9 - 13 mm long, 8 - 10-seeded
|
3.
Corydalis borii
|
20a. Pedicels 5 - 20 mm long; bracts shorter than pedicels; racemes 3 - 8-flowered
|
33.
Corydalis lathyroides
|
b. Pedicels up to 5 mm long; bracts exceeding pedicels; racemes more than 10-flowered
|
21
|
21a. Leaves simply pinnate; pinnae fan-shaped, ovate to suborbicular; capsules sometimes dimorphic
|
1.
Corydalis adiantifolia
|
b. Leaves 2 - 3 pinnatisect; pinnae elongated, much dissected with ovate to sublinear segments; capsules never dimorphic
|
49.
Corydalis stricta
|
22a. Cauline leaves absent, or if present 1 or 2 and highly reduced
|
23
|
b. Cauline leaves present, well-developed
|
24
|
b. Racemes 3 -
10-flowered, 8 -
10 cm long, hardly exceeding radical leaves
|
50.
Corydalis tibetica
|
b. Plants less than 60 cm high; upper petal usually crested on back, rarely minutely so
|
25
|
25a. Stems zig-zag at nodes; leaves 3 - 4 times ternate; ultimate lobes less than 1 mm broad
|
45.
Corydalis shakyae
|
b. Stems not zig-zag at nodes; leaves 2 -
3 times pinnate; ultimate lobes more than 1 mm broad
|
26
|
26a. Cauline leaves usually 2, opposite, rarely 1 or 3, opposite or subopposite
|
27
|
b. Cauline leaves usually several, alternate
|
29
|
27a. Plants small, cushion-forming, less than 8 cm high; racemes 3 - 10-flowered
|
29.
Corydalis hendersonii
|
b. Plants not cushion-forming, more than 10 cm high; racemes 10 - 40-flowered
|
28
|
28a. Bracts wedge-shaped or oblong. pectinate-incised, 8 - 20 mm wide; flowers 20 - 25 mm long; spur conical, straight or slightly curved downwards
|
28.
Corydalis govaniana
|
b. Bracts not wedge-shaped, linear-lanceolate, entire or lower ones dissected, 2 - 5 mm wide; flowers 12 - 18 mm long; spur cylindrical, slightly hooked at apex
|
21.
Corydalis falconeri
|
29a. Leaves primarily temately divided and subdivided into equal or unequal pinnately or temately subdivided leaflets
|
30
|
b. Leaves primarily pinnately divided and subdivided into equal or unequal pinnately subdivided
leaflets
|
41
|
30a. Erect robust little-branched herbs, up to 60 cm high; roots numerous, densely fascicled
|
32.
Corydalis laelia
|
b. Diffuse or suberect weak much-branched herbs, mostly less than 50 cm high; rootstock a simple
rhizome, not consisting of fascicled roots
|
31
|
31a. Rootstock almost absent or very short, with a taproot and branched roots; capsules subtorulose
|
47.
Corydalis stewartii
|
b. Rootstock present, long, slender or thickened, fusiform, often branched and covered with sheathing
withered leaf-bases; capsules not torulose
|
32
|
32a. Terminal leaflet usually larger than lateral ones; racemes rounded, densely flowered
|
33
|
b. Terminal leaflets similar to lateral ones; racemes elongated, laxly flowered
|
34
|
33a. Leaf segments obovate, mucronate; racemes 10 - 20-flowered; bracts equal to pedicels; crests of outer petals not projecting beyond lips
|
13.
Corydalis crispa
|
b. Leaf segments linear-lanceolate, acute; racemes 6 - 12-flowered; upper bracts longer than pedicels; crests of outer petals projecting beyond lips
|
17.
Corydalis drepanantha
|
34a. Lower petal not spurred, nor gibbous or pouched at base
|
35
|
b. Lower petal with 8 short broad spur or basal pouch or gibbous at base
|
38
|
35a. Tuberous storage roots present on short rhizome; stem leafless towards underground Portion; basal rosette of withered leaf sheaths and scales absent; cauline leaves 1 - 3; capsules obovoid-oblong, 5 - 8 mm long,2 - 3 mm thick
|
42.
Corydalis polygalina
|
b. Tuberous storage roots absent; stem originating from a basal rosette of withered leaf-sheath bases
and scales; cauline leaves usually more than 3; capsules linear, 8 -15 mm long, ca 1 mm thick
|
36
|
36a. Racemes 1.5 - 3 cm long; flowers ca 1 cm or less long; sepals less than 1 mm across; nectariferous gland coherent entirely to spur wall, not upcurved at apex
|
6.
Corydalis cashmeriana
|
b. Racemes 3 - 7 cm long; flowers ca 1.5 cm or more long; sepals ca 2 mm across; nectariferous gland coherent partially to wall, upcurved at apex
|
37
|
37a. Pedicels much longer than bracts; upper petal acute; spur as long as limb
|
22.
Corydalis filicina
|
b. Pedicels as long as or shorter than bracts; upper petal with a broad blunt crest; spur shorter than limb
|
7.
Corydalis cavei
|
38a. Densely tufted cushion-forming herbs, 2 - 5 cm high; radical leaves ca 1 cm long; bracts large, exceeding flowers; capsules 2-seeded
|
37.
Corydalis mucronifera
|
b. Erect or diffuse herbs, not cushion-forming; radical leaves, if present, longer; bracts not exceeding
flowers, usually smaller than pedicels; capsules 8 -
18 -seeded
|
39
|
39a. Crest of upper petal extending only up to tip of spur; lower petal with a short spur at base; nectariferous gland two-third to three-fourth the length of spur
|
9.
Corydalis changuensis
|
b. Crest of upper petal extending only up to half the length of spur; lower petal with a short pouch at
base; nectariferous gland up to half the length of spur
|
40
|
40a. Plants bluish green; sepals large, deeply fimbriate, 2 - 3 x 1.5 - 2 mm; spur 9 - 10 mm long; nectariferous gland more than 2.5 mm long, partly without a median constriction
|
23.
Corydalis filiformis
|
b. Plants not bluish green; sepals small, minutely divided or entire, ca 1 mm across; spur 5 -
6 mm long;
nectariferous gland less than 1 mm long, not fused with spur; lower petal with a median constriction
|
44.
Corydalis pseudolongipes
|
41a. Pedicels much longer than or almost double the length of bracts
|
22.
Corydalis filicina
|
b. Pedicels almost equal to or shorter than bracts
|
42
|
42a. Spur of upper petal shorter or much shorter than limb
|
43
|
b. Spur of upper petal equal to or longer than limb
|
45
|
43a. Stems ascending, branched; racemes lax; pedicels 2 - 8 mm long; seeds minutely papillate
|
48.
Corydalis stracheyi
|
b. Stems erect, not or slightly branched; pedicels 10 -
15 mm long; racemes dense; seeds smooth
|
44
|
44a. Robust herbs; basal leaf remnants with persistent fibres; racemes 12 - 35-flowered; upper petal 12 - 13 mm long; spur 1.5 - 5 mm long
|
36.
Corydalis meifolia
|
b. Weak herbs; basal leaf remnants membranous; racemes 5 - 15-flowered; upper petal 15 - 19 mm long; spur 6 - 8 mm long
|
46.
Corydalis sikkimensis
|
45a. Leaves rather thick, crisped; ultimate segments of leaves linear, less than 1 mm wide; pedicels 10 - 13 mm long; seeds minutely papillate
|
18.
Corydalis dubia
|
b. Leaves thin, not crisped; ultimate segments of leaves oblanceolate to lanceolate, more than 1 mm wide; pedicels 2 - 12 mm long
|
46
|
46a. Leaves 1-pinnate; leaflets lobed, pinnatisect or ternatisect
|
47
|
b. Leaves mainly 2 - 3 pinnate; leaflets lobed, pinnatisect or ternatisect
|
49
|
47a. Leaves laciniate; ultimate segments white mucronate at apex; flowers ca 8 mm long; upper petal faintly crested; capsules up to 5 mm long
|
4.
Corydalis boweri
|
b. Leaflets deeply lobed; ultimate segments obtuse or acute, not white mucronate; flowers more than 14
mm long; upper petal distinctly crested; capsules 8 -
16 mm long
|
48
|
48a. Rootstock with a rosette of scales and withered sheathing leaf bases at apex; ultimate segments of leaflets obtuse; flowers 20 - 22 mm long; capsules obovoid, 13 - 16 mm long
|
20.
Corydalis elegans
|
b. Rootstock without such scales; ultimate segments of leaflets acute; flowers 14 -
16 mm long; capsules
oblong, 8 -
10 mm long
|
30.
Corydalis hookeri
|
49a. Plants tufted, up to 14 cm high; stems absent or very much shortened, unbranched
|
19.
Corydalis duthiei
|
b. Plants diffuse, 15 - 60 cm high; stems present, elongated, usually branched
|
50
|
50a. Rootstock spindle-Shaped; plants glaucous, often glandular pilose; branches few, confined to region of inflorescence only; leaf segments obovate, oblong, suborbicular, obtuse at apex
|
27.
Corydalis gortschakovii
|
b. Rootstock slender or thickened, not spindle-shaped; plants subglaucous or green; branches several,
scattered; leaf segments linear-oblong, linear-ovate, acute or mucronate at apex
|
51
|
51a. Petiole-bases broadly winged and sheathing at base; inflorescence simple racemes; unbranched
|
52
|
b. Petiole-bases sometimes very narrowly winged not sheathing at base; inflorescence thyrsoid, often
branched below
|
53
|
52a. Rootstock almost absent; stems angular; pedicels 2 - 5 mm long; flowers yellow with purplish tips on inner petals; crest of upper petal entire; seeds opaque, mucronulate or punctulate
|
11.
Corydalis cornuta
|
b. Rootstock present; stems not angular; pedicels 4 - 10 mm long; flowers yellow with brownish veins, not purple-tipped; crest of upper petal dentate or denticulate; seeds shiny, smooth
|
53.
Corydalis vaginans
|
53a. Racemes 30 - 40-flowered, 5 - 12 cm long; flowers with purple tips; spur robust, broad, straight; capsules ellipsoid, 5 - 7 mm long, ca 4 mm broad, 3 - 4 -seeded
|
51.
Corydalis thyrsiflora
|
b. Racemes 15 - 20-flowered, 3 - 6 cm long; flowers without purple tips; spur slender, down-curved; capsules oblong, 8 - 10 mm long, 25 - 3 mm broad, 6 - 8-seeded
|
41.
Corydalis pakistanica
|