Annual, 10-25 (-40) cm tall, erect, branched from the base, glabrous or sparsely glandular. Basal leaves rosulate, oblanceolate, sinuate-toothed, 30-80 mm long, 5-20 mm broad, stalked; upper leaves shortly stalked to sessile, similar but becoming smaller upwards. Racemes 10-20-flowered, lax, up to 20 cm long in fruit. Flowers c. 10 mm across, pink or violet, sometimes whitish; pedicels up to 5 mm long in fruit. Sepals 5-6 mm long. Petals 9-11 mm long, c. 2 mm broad. Stamens 5:7 mm long; anthers c. 1.5 mm long. Siliquae 25-30 (-35) mm long, 1.5-2 mm broad, linear-cylindrical, tapering towards the apex, often curved upwards, subtorulose, breaking transversely into several 2-seeded parts; beak-like upper portion c. as long as the body (10-15 mm long), ending in a conical bilobed stigma; seeds c. 1 mm long, suborbicular, brownish.

Fl. Per.: April-June.

Type: Trans-Caspian region, lower Volga, Pallas (LE, BM).

Distribution: Most of Europe and Asia; perhaps introduced in N. America.

A distinct species with somewhat smooth pods with elongated beak. Sometimes plants become very reduced, only 2-5 cm tall with 1-2 flowers. Fairly com¬mon, and the only species recorded from Baluchistan.