Sisymbrium brassiciforme C. A. Mey.

Annual or biennial, 30-100 cm tall, erect, branched, subglabrous. Lower leaves lyrate, 1-2-jugate, rarely subentire, shortly petioled; terminal lobe ovate-oblong, distantly toothed; lateral lobes smaller but similar, dentate to sub-entire; upper leaves gradually becoming smaller and linear, subsessile to sessile; all leaves subfleshy. Racemes 20-50(-60)-flowered, up to 25 cm long in fruit. Flowers c. 5 mm across, yellow; pedicels 5-10 mm long in fruit, spreading horizontally, slightly thickened. Sepals 3-4 mm long. Petals (5-) 6-8 mm long, 1.5 mm broad. Stamens c. 3:5 mm long; anthers c. 1.5 mm long. Siliquae linear, subcylindrical, slightly downcurved, horizontally spreading, 50-100 mm long, 1 mm broad, glabrous; valves submembranous, 3-veined; style c. 1(4.5) mm long, thickened with depressed, capitate stigma; seeds many, c. 1 mm long, oblong, brown, finely granulate; radicle incumbent (sometimes accumbent), variable.

Herbs annual, (25-)35-100(-125) cm tall. Stems erect, branched above, glabrous or sparsely to densely soft pubescent at least near base, usually glabrous above. Basal leaves rosulate, often fleshy; petiole (1-)2-5(-8) cm; leaf blade broadly oblanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate in outline, lyrate-pinnatipartite to lyrate, (1.5-)3-15(-26) × (0.5-)1-6(-9) cm, dentate or rarely subentire; lateral lobes 1 or 2(or 3) on each side of midvein, much smaller than the oblong, dentate terminal lobe. Uppermost cauline leaves narrowly lanceolate or linear, often entire, rarely lobed. Fruiting pedicels horizontal to divaricate-ascending, stout and narrower than fruit, 5-10(-12) mm. Sepals oblong-linear, spreading, 4-6 × 1-1.5 mm. Petals yellow, spatulate, 6-10(-12) × 1.5-2.5 mm; claw subequaling sepals. Filaments yellowish, erect, 3-6 mm; anthers oblong, 1.5-2 mm. Ovules 90-150 per ovary. Fruit narrowly linear, stout, terete, (5-)7-10(-12) cm × 1-1.5 mm, usually recurved; valves glabrous or pubescent, subtorulose; style stout, 0.7-2(-2.5) mm; stigma 2-lobed; septum slightly thickened. Seeds oblong, 0.9-1.3 × 0.5-0.7 mm, inserted in depressions of septum. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep. 2n = 14.

C. Asia, Altai, Afghanistan, Himalaya (Kashmir, Nepal), Tibet.

Distribution: C. Asia, Tibet, Kashmir, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Xinjiang, Xizang [Afghanistan, India, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan].

2900 m

Fl. Per.: May-July.

Roadsides, rocky places, fields; 900-4500 m.

Sisymbrium ferganense Korshinsky; S. iscandericum Komarov.