Corydalis schanginii (Pall.) B.Fedtsch. is distributed from the western corner of Mongolia to the Black Sea where it is found in summer dry areas at an altitude of 500 to 2000 m (1640 to 6560 ft). There are two subspecies. Subsp. schanginii has rosy purple flowers with a narrow rim bordering the lower petal.
Subsp. ainae Rukšāns ex Lidén is from the Kara Tau Mountains of Kazakhstan. It lacks the rim and has a yellow front and is a slenderer plant with loose racemes. Liden and Zetterlund call it "a gem of the genus." The first photo by Jane McGary shows a selection made by the introducer, Jānis Rukšāns, under the name 'Berkara', here growing in a roofed raised bed of coarse sand over loam in Portland, Oregon. Given a free root run the plant becomes fairly large and robust, producing many racemes of large, showy flowers in late winter. The tubers divide slowly. It can tolerate summer rain out of doors but this may be risky. It enjoys a lot of water during its spring growing spurt, but can be kept very dry in summer and autumn. The second photo by Peter Taggart shows the tuber. The last photo is of a plant in habitat by Andrey Dedov.
