Herbs perennial, (15-)20-50(-60) cm tall, glabrous or sparsely pilose with short trichomes. Stems usually few from base, branched above. Basal and lowermost cauline leaves with petioles 0.5-4(-6) cm, flattened at base, often ciliate; leaf blade oblong or oblanceolate in outline, pinnatifid, lyrate, or incised, (0.5-)1.5-6(-9) × (0.2-)0.7-2(-3) cm, base attenuate; lateral lobes 1-4 on each side of midvein, oblong, linear, or lanceolate, much smaller than terminal lobe, entire. Upper cauline leaves subsessile or shortly petiolate, linear to linear-lanceolate, 0.5-2 cm × 0.5-2 mm, entire or sparsely serrate. Fruiting pedicels divaricate-ascending, 3-6 mm, slender, straight, sparsely crisped pilose adaxially. Sepals broadly obovate or suborbicular, 1-1.5 × 0.8-1.2 mm, abaxially sparsely crisped pilose or glabrous, with a broad white margin and apex. Petals white, obovate, 2-2.7(-3) × (1-)1.2-1.7 mm. Stamens 6; filaments 1-1.8 mm; anthers ovate, 0.2-0.3 mm. Fruit ovate, 2.5-3 × 1.8-2.2 mm, glabrous, wingless; apical notch obsolete or to 0.1 mm; style 0.2-0.5 mm, exserted from apical notch. Seeds brown, oblong, 1.2-1.5 × 0.7-0.9 mm; cotyledons incumbent. Fl. and fr. May-Jul.

This above first record of Lepidium lacerum from China is based on Yunatov & Yuan 42a (LE), collected 10-12 km N of Ürümqi, as well as on Xinjiang Team 268 (PE), collected near Ürümqi.

Slopes, semideserts. Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Mongolia].