Perennial herb, with thick, woody often many-headed taproot.. Stems several from the base, woody at base or often even to quite high up, usually 20–30(–50) cm. tall, ascending to erect, much branched, finely puberulous with very short patent to recurved, sometimes scabridulous hairs, or glabrous.. Basal leaves short-lived, petioled, oblanceolate in outline, undivided or with a few basal lobe-pairs, serrate towards the apex; cauline leaves indistincly petioled, of rather firm consistency, up to 4 cm. long, lanceolate, oblanceolate or linear, acute, attenuate at base, sparsely serrate to entire, sparsely puberulous to glabrous; apices and teeth ± cartilaginous.. Racemes terminal, with numerous small whitish flowers, in fruit rather lax, up to 25 cm. long, puberulous or glabrous; pedicels 3–4.5 mm., straight and ascending or curved and spreading, puberulous to glabrous.. Sepals green with prominent membranous margins and often tinged with violet, ovate to oblong, 0.8–1.2 mm. long.. Petals white, equalling or longer than sepals, 1.2–1.8 mm. long, spathulate to clawed; blade with rounded apex.. Stamens 4 or 2 (median and/or lateral); median filaments basally surrounded by broadly cylindrical to obtusely conical nectarial glands.. Ovary ovate, with distinctly projecting style.. Siliculae orbicular, elliptic or (in E. Africa) rhomboidally elliptic to ovate, 2.5–3.8 mm. long, 2–2.5 mm. broad, retuse; style prominent, distinctly projecting (including stigma 0.2–0.3 mm.) above the sinus.. Seeds wingless, bright red-brown, 1.3–1.7 mm. long, ± 0.8 mm. broad.. Fig. 5/4.
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