Perennial herb, usually glabrous and with a somewhat thick rootstock; flowering stem inconspicuous or suppressed with flowers directly borne on the rootstock. Radical leaves rosulate, oblanceolate, pinnatifid or sinuate-toothed, 20-50 (-60) mm long, 3-10 mm broad, stalked. Scapes I-flowered or raceme on a very short stem (embedded in leaves, rarely up to 6 cm long in fruit, 2-5-flowered). Flowers 15-20 mm across, pink-violet; pedicels (scape) up to 30 mm long in fruit. Sepals 7-8 (-10) mm long. Petals c. twice as long as the sepals, 5-7 mm broad, apex emarginate. Stamens c. 6:9 mm long; anthers c. 3 mm long. Siliquae 20-30 mm long, 1.5 mm broad, torulose or moniliform with several articulations; beak c. 5 mm long; seeds 1 mm in diameter.

Fl. Per.: May July.

Type: C. Asia.: Baskan, Dsung, Alatau, Ledebour (LE).

Distribution: C. Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Chitral plants, cited above, usually have fairly hairy habit, especially on sepals, stalks and leaf margins. Pods eaten raw or cooked as vegetable.