Corydalis austroshaanxiensis, a new species of Corydalis sect. Incisae Fedde (Papaveraceae) from Shaanxi, China, is described. It is most similar to C. pseudoincisa C.Y. Wu, Z.Y. Su & Lidén, but differs in the outer petals retuse to emarginate, with dorsal crest (vs acuminate, rounded to shortly mucronate, without crest), lowermost pedicels that are conspicuously elongating and basally recurved in fruit (vs slightly elongating, straight, erect-spreading), sepals that are 3–4 × ca. 3 mm (vs 1.5–2 × ca. 1.5 mm), lower petals that usually have a linear reddish tint at base (vs without reddish tint), capsules that are narrowly to broadly elliptic to obovoid (vs linear to narrowly oblong), and by the racemes corymbose, forming a very dense cluster of upper fruits (vs racemes not corymbose-like, flower dense in anthesis, lax in fruit). The original materials, which were referred to C. pseudoincisa were mosaic, and the original descriptions and illustrations annotated as C. pseudoincisa only fit in part C. pseudoincisa. A revised circumscription for C. pseudoincisa was given in this study. We suggest the need for caution when identifying additional specimens as paratypes that differ from holotype in distinct characters.

After extensive field collections and the study of herbarium specimens, we confirm that these unusual plants represent a hitherto undescribed species.