Stems mostly 4-10 dm. Flowers : outer petals with marginal wing highly developed, scarcely revolute, apex rounded, occasionally minutely notched.

Flowering mid summer. On gravel bars along streams; of conservation concern; 2550-3050 m; Utah.

The epithet brachycarpa , apparently intended to denote a difference between the capsules of this taxon and those of its close relatives, is a misnomer since their fruits are all similar. It may have resulted from a misinterpretation of the swollen capsules commonly found on plants of this subspecies. Such fruits always contain insect larvae that stimulate production of abnormal tissue, which increases the fruit diameter significantly.