Corydalis decumbens

Corydalis decumbens (Papaveraceae), known in Chinese medicine as xia tian wu, is a small, delicate perennial herb that grows decumbent (creeping) along forest floors, meadows, and roadsides. It arises from a small subglobose tuber and produces slender, weak stems bearing finely divided, ternately compound leaves with narrow, blue-green segments. The small tubular flowers are pale, white tinged with pink and blue, borne in short racemes, and have the characteristic spurred form of the genus. The fruit is a slender capsule. The tuber differs from related Corydalis species in having a whitish, powdery cross-section rather than a bright-yellow waxy one. The species is native to lowland regions of southern and eastern China and Japan, where the tubers are dug in winter or early spring.