Herbs , biennial or perennial, caulescent, from stout rhizomes or taproots; sap yellow to orange. Stems leafy. Leaves petiolate; basal rosulate, cauline alternate; blade 1-2× pinnately lobed. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, umbelliform, few flowered; bracts present. Flowers: sepals 2, distinct; petals 4; stamens ca. 12-many; pistil 2-carpellate; ovary 1-locular; style ± distinct; stigma 2-lobed. Capsules erect, 2-valved, dehiscing from base. Seeds few to many, arillate. x = 6.

Sep 2; pet 4, yellow; ovary narrowly cylindric, glabrous, narrowed above into a very short style with 2-lobed stigma; fr smooth, dehiscent from the base upwards by elongate valves; seeds arillate; biennial with saffron-colored juice, deeply lobed lvs, and few-fld umbelliform infls. Monospecific.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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