Annual, 5-12 cm tall herb, with numerous, slender, filiform and erect branches from the base, clothed with branched hairs. Leaves mostly radical (laxly rosulate), oblong-obovate, shortly stalked or subsessile to sessile, 15-40 mm long, 5-10 mm broad, sinuate-dentate to entire; upper leaves few, smaller, oblong-linear, sessile. Raceme very loose, (2-) 5-10-flowered, up to 10 cm long in fruit. Flowers c. 2 mm across, white; pedicels c. 1.5 mm long in fruit, thickened. Sepals 1.2-1.5 mm long. Petals 2.5 mm long, linear-cuneate. Siliquae erect, 10-20 mm long, c. 0.8 mm broad, sub-cylindrical-linear, slender, ± torulose, puberscent or glabrous, often somewhat spirally curved at the apex, grey-green in colour, obtuse; stigma broad, sessile, subretuse; seeds 10-15 in each locule, c. 1 mm long, oblong, brown smooth.

Fl. Per.: May-June.

Type: NW. of Lake Balkash, on sands near the Ayaguz river, Karelin & Kirilov 106 (LE).

Distribution: Turkestan and Pakistan.

Differs from Malcolmia brevipes (Kar. & Kir.) Boiss. by its smaller size, filiform branches, smaller flowers and fruits with obtuse apices. See also note under Malcolmia brevities.