Perennial, 20-40 cm tall, glabrous (rarely very sparsely hairy with simple hairs) rootstock thickened. Leaves almost simple, or 1-2-lobed at the base of the blade, 5-10 cm long, 1.5-3 cm broad, upper sessile or subsessile (rarely stalked), almost entire or slightly toothed, 1.5-5 (-7) cm long, 0.5-2 cm broad; lower leaves obovate-oblong, upper lanceolate, linear or obovate, very variable. Racemes 10-20-flowered, up to 10 cm long; axis often slightly zigzag in fruit; pedicels often short (up to 5 mm) horizontally spreading with siliquae straight, horizontal on it. Siliquae linear, (12-) 15-20 mm long, 1 mm broad, glabrous; seeds 50-90 only, uniseriate, about 0.7 mm long.

Fl. Per.: March- June.

Type: Himalaya, Nepal, Wallich 4778 B (K-W).

Distribution: Himalayas, Pakistan, E. Asia, and introduced in N. America.

Scarcely distinct from the following species, R. indica except for its perennial habit, more entire, smoother leaves, less robust plants, and siliquae narrower, 1 mm broad, on slightly zigzag axis, with 50 to 90 seeds only, each c. 0.7 mm long.

This seems to be more common species in our area than R. indica (L.) Hiern., and reaches down to the Punjab plains.