Annual herb with a slender taproot to 0.8 m tall Stem: slender, upright, much-branched, hairy (with branched or two-pronged hairs). Flowers: in branched clusters (raceme). Petals four, yellow, about 1.5 mm wide, spatula-shaped, bases narrowed. Fruit: an indehiscent pod, 2 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, nearly spherical, slightly flattened, firm, thick-walled, net-veined and pitted. Basal leaves: stalked, roughly hairy. Stem leaves: alternate, clasping, stalkless, 3 - 6 cm long, oblong- lance-shaped, bases lobed, tips pointed, non-toothed or nearly so, and hairy.
Similar species: No information at this time.
Flowering: May to September
Habitat and ecology: Introduced from Europe. In the Chicago Region known only from Lake County, Indiana, where it used to be abundant along a railroad. It no longer grows at that locality.
Much-branched, to 8 dm, pubescent with branched or 2-pronged hairs; cauline lvs oblong-lanceolate, 3-6 cm, acute, entire or nearly so; fls 1.5 mm wide; mature pedicels slender, divergent, to 1 cm; frs 2 נ2.5 mm; 2n=14. Native of the Near East, found as an occasional weed here and there in our range. June, July.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.