[1] It has wavy-edged alternate leaves of lanceolate or oblanceolate shape of up to 8 centimeters long, and glandular hairs are typically observed on most parts of the plant.

[1][3] The four tiny petals of each cruciform flower emerge from a loose tube of sepals and spread into a corolla about a centimeter wide.

The plant was named Raphanus tenellus in 1776 by Peter von Pallas (1741–1811) from Eurasian specimens and was renamed Chorispora tenella in 1821 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778–1841).

It reduces yields in grain fields and when it is consumed by dairy cattle it gives their milk a bad taste and odor.

Outside of its native range, this species commonly occurs in areas where the soil has been disturbed, as well as along roadways, in pastures, and in steppe habitats.