Sisymbrium humile C. A. Meyer in Ledebour, Icon. Pl. Fl. Ross. 2: 16. 1830; Arabidopsis trichocarpa R. F. Huang; A. tuemurnica K. C. Kuan & Z. X. An; Arabis axillaris Komarov; A. piasezkii Maximowicz; Braya humilis (C. A. Meyer) B. L. Robinson; Dichasianthus humilis (C. A. Meyer) Soják; Erysimum alyssoides Franchet; E. stigmatosum Franchet; Hesperis hygrophila Kuntze; H. piasezkii (Maximowicz) Kuntze; Malcolmia perennans Maximowicz; Neotorularia humilis f. angustifolia (Z. X. An) Z. X. An; N. humilis f. glabrata (Z. X. An) Z. X. An; N. humilis f. grandiflora (O. E. Schulz) Z. X. An; N. humilis f. hygrophila (Fournier) Z. X. An; N. maximowiczii (Botschantzev) Botschantzev; N. piasezkii (Maximowicz) Botschantzev; Sisymbrium humile var. hygrophilum Fournier; S. humile var. piasezkii (Maximowicz) Maximowicz; S. nanum Bunge; S. piasezkii Maximowicz; Torularia humilis (C. A. Meyer) O. E. Schulz; T. humilis var. maximowiczii (Botschantzev) H. L. Yang; T. humilis var. piasezkii (Maximowicz) Jafri; T. humilis var. ventosa O. E. Schulz; T. humilis f. angustifolia Z. X. An; T. humilis f. glabrata Z. X. An; T. humilis f. grandiflora O. E. Schulz; T. humilis f. hygrophila (Fournier) O. E. Schulz; T. maximowiczii Botschantzev; T. piasezkii (Maximowicz) Botschantzev.

Herbs perennial, (4-)8-25(-35) cm tall, sparsely to densely covered with short-stalked or subsessile, submalpighiaceous or rarely 2-forked trichomes often mixed along petioles and stem base with simple trichomes, rarely glabrescent. Stems usually few to many from base, rarely simple, ascending or erect, rarely subdecumbent. Basal leaves rosulate; petiole 2-16(-35) mm; leaf blade obovate, spatulate, oblanceolate, oblong, or sublinear, (0.3-)0.5-2(-3.5) cm × 1-8(-10) mm, sparsely to densely pubescent or rarely glabrous, base attenuate or cuneate, margin entire, repand, dentate, or pinnatifid, apex acute or obtuse. Cauline leaves similar to basal leaves but progressively smaller upward, uppermost sessile to subsessile. Racemes bracteate along lowermost part, very rarely throughout. Fruiting pedicels erect and subappressed to rachis, ascending, or divaricate, slender, much narrower than fruit, (2.5-)3-8(-12) mm. Sepals oblong, 2-3 × 0.8-1.2 mm, slightly saccate or not saccate at base. Petals white, pink, or purple, broadly obovate or spatulate, 3-5(-8) × (1-)1.5-2.5(-4) mm, apex rounded. Filaments 2-3(-4) mm; anthers oblong, 0.4-0.7 mm, apex apiculate. Ovules 20-44 per ovary. Fruit linear, uniform in width, (0.9-)1.2-2.5(-3.2) cm × 0.5-0.9(-1) mm, mostly straight, terete, torulose, pubescent with submalpighiaceous trichomes rarely mixed with fewer straight ones, rarely glabrescent; style 0.3-0.8(-1) mm; stigma entire or strongly 2-lobed. Seeds oblong, uniseriate, 0.6-0.9 × 0.4-0.5 mm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jun-Aug. 2n = 28, 40, 42, 50, 56, 64, 70.

A highly variable species in pubescence, leaf shape and margin, flower color and size, length of the bracteate portion of the raceme, fruit orientation and length, cotyledonary position, and chromosome number. Numerous taxa have been described from China, Russia, and North America, but the variation is continuous and does not support the recognition of infraspecific taxa. Fully bracteate racemes, though very rare, appear sporadically in populations that otherwise have racemes only basally bracteate. The above synonymy pertains only to China, and it represents about half of the total synonymy of the species.

Presently treated by Ihsan Al-Shehbaz as Braya humilis B. L. Robinson (Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 1, pt. 1: 141. 1895).

Sandy areas, river terraces, open stony slopes, scree, dolomite cliffs and slopes, degraded loess slopes, limestone ledges; 1000-5300. Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang, Yunnan [Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan; North America].